The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, August 24, 2007 Page: 3 of 32
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THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, AUGUST 24,2007
Guest column
r
Campus energy policy powered by irony
When I opened up my letter this
summer from Dean of Undergradu-
ates Robin Forman, I was delighted
to find that Field Notes from a Catas-
trophe had been chosen as
the common reading. Over
the course of my first year
at Rice, I had often found
that the issue of global
warming was little more
than an afterthought for
most students.
"Finally," I thought,
"Here is an opportunity for
students to really start talk-
ing seriously about Rice's
role in tackling global
climate change."
However, I could not help but
notice the irony in this choice of
reading material.
Patrick
McAnaney
The vast majority
of our power on
campus — and college
campuses use a lot
of power—comes
directly from
fossil fuels.
Ixist year I served on the Student
Association Environmental Com-
mittee, where renewable energy
was our major focus. We found that
Rice currently derives less than
1 percent of its energy from renew-
able sources. The vast majority of
our power — and college campuses
use a lot of power — comes directly
from fossil fuels.
Our basic conclusion was that
more renewable energy on campus
would be an easy, effective way to
reduce Rice's carbon footprint
After meeting with faculty mem-
bers and surveying the student body,
we devised our initial plan of
action: a student initiative to
raise housing fees by $100
per year that would ensure
20 percent of energy on
campus — approximate-
ly the amount of energy
used by the residential
colleges — came from re-
newable sources. In other
words, students would
volunteer to increase their
fees by 0.2 percent in order
to reduce Rice's use of fossil
fuels by 20 percent.
Our survey results showed that
students overwhelmingly supported
this plan, and we were optimistic that
it would be able to pass a vote by the
Student Association. However, our
plans came to an abrupt halt when
Housing and Dining informed us that
such a student initiative would not be
put in place even if passed by a formal
vote of the student body. We were told
that Rice had achieved its success by
maintaining cheap student fees and
unnecessary increases in the cost
of attending Rice would damage its
national reputation.
Soon after we were informed of this
decision. Rice announced that Room
and Board fees would increase the
following year by 6.9 percent. 1 could
not help feeling slightly betrayed.
Housing and Dining had decided to
increase its fees by 6.9 percent, and
yet refused to consider a voluntary
student initiative to increase fees by
a mere 0.2 percent more. Apparently,
global warming was of that little im-
portance to them.
Thus, when Forman claimed in
his letter that "global climate change
is real and merits our most urgent
concern," I couldn't help but laugh.
Of course global warming merits
our urgent concern. Millions of the
world's poorest people will probably
die within the next decade from
famine and drought.
But when it comes down to it, the
university seems more concerned
with its rankings in U.S. News and
World Report. After all, why force
new students to read about the
horrors of global warming if their
university shows such little interest
in addressing it?
After all, what is
the point of forcing
freshmen to read about
the horrors of
global warming
if their university
is not willing to do
something about it?
It then occurred to me that the
debate over renewable energy at Rice
perfectly mirrored national climate
change policy—everyone talks about
global warming, but nothing ever
seems to get done. As an esteemed na-
tional university, we should be leading
by example, not following in the foot-
steps of politicians who remain content
to address the issue with nothing but
hollow words. We still have a chance
to change our approach, but if we do
not act soon it may be too late.
Patrick McAnaney is a Brown College
sophomore and member of the Student
Association environmental committee.
Guest column
Exploring the true drains on American society
In America, we have been told who
the drains on our society are. They
arc people on welfare, undocumented
workers, hippies, hobos and basically
anyone who hasn't made
a million dollars — and
thus hasn't demonstrated
his or her ability to put in
a hard day's work. Appar-
ently, in America, a hard
day's work entitles you to a
million dollars.
Yeah, right. Let's wake
up and look for the real
drains on society.
How about marketers?
Marketing executives
spend all day thinking
about which demographic responds
best to those toothpaste commercials
you hate so much. And what's worse,
you fund them. Since marketing is
paid f< n* by the salesof products, every
product you buy inherently comes
with an elevated price tag because of
the money spent advertising it.
Or what about Web marketers?
These people make a living by
creating and strategically placing
those make-the-rat-eat-the-cheese
banner ads on Web sites. Sure, I
understand that Brian-remember-
him-from-high-school wouldn't be
able to have his MySpace page and
needlessly friend everyone he's ever
met for more than a half-second if it
were not for banner ads. And what
a shame that would be.
Speaking of shameless promo-
tion, what about governmental lob-
byists? A lobbyist requests that the
government allow industries to do
things that the government would
not logically allow industries to do
and that most American citizens
would never allow industries to
do. Essentially, the job of lobbyist
is to turn the government against
the people. The government is
already against the people as it
is; no one needs to aggravate the
Ian
Ragsdale
situation. But they do, and you
fund them.
lobbyists are paid by organiza-
tions representing industries, which
in turn are paid for by com-
panies within those indus-
tries, and those companies
make their money selling
things to you. Think about
it; your dollars pay the
salaries of lobbyists who
spend all their days try-
ing to convince American
politicians that wetlands
are not necessary, that
cigarettes are not being
advertised tochildren, and
that chemical, biological
and radioactive waste does not need
to be stored according to safety stan-
dards. Run that one down the garbage
disposal, America.
though they may be. But elected and
appointed officials have the job of
protecting and serving the American
people, and when they use their power
to hurt the people they are supposed
to be helping, they spit in the face of
every hobo, hippy, full-time student
and single mother in this country.
And that means you.
People may complain about how
their money goes to those social dregs
or hobos panhandling under the free-
way. But rarely do you hear complaints
about those big-bucks black holes who
make a living by being a leech on the
gilded underbelly of America. They
are the true drains on society.
Ian Ragsdale is a Hanszen College
senior.
Self-proclaimed gadfly
Let's give hazing a
second chance, Rice style
In prep school:
President of the class.
Valedictorian.
Captain of football team.
Baseball star.
President of dramatic
club.
Editor of School news-
paper.
In college:
One of the Slimes.
— Anonymous
poem printed in the
Jan. 9, 1925 issue of
the Rice Thresher
Evan
Mintz
Hazing gets a bad rap. And with
the associated deaths, alcohol
poisonings and homoeroticism,
it is quite understandable that
hazing at Rice has been reduced
to a shadow of its former self.
But there used to be a time when
hazing was a grand and glorious
tradition on campus.
Back in Rice's formative years
before World War II, sophomores
spent orientation week beating
slimes, as freshmen were known,
while forcing them to climb a
greased pole. After the slimes
accomplished this goal, or at least
attempted it, the extravaganza of
greased-up boys was followed
by a forced semi-nude run down
Main, where Rice girls would
wait to give the slimes their first
collegiate kiss.
The hazing didn't end there.
While physical hazing was banned
during the year, a general attitude
of slime subordination dominated
campus. Freshmen were treated
like pathetic animals, subservi-
ent to the demands of anyone
else. Professors were the worst,
humiliating the once best and
brightest of Texas high schools
with academic rigors that they had
never before experienced, forcing
them to disregard their notions of
self-worth. And it is about time
Rice brought hazing back.
No, Rice shouldn't reinstitute
physical humiliation, like those
Owls of yore or our dear alumnus
A1 Gonzales. Nor should we turn
to frat-esque challenges of spank-
ings, eating disgusting foods or
whatever else Lacoste-bearing
brahs do to pledges. We should
even turn away from that Rice
tradition of forcing freshmen to
drink. Instead, let's bring back
the 90-year-old Rice tradition of
academic hazing.
Back in the roaring '20s, the
greatest challenge to freshmen
wasn't the constant name-calling,
greased-pole-climbing or buying
on margin. It was classwork. Fail-
ing was the rule, not the exception,
and the pain from a failed test was
much worse than any "crossing
the desert," "unblink-
ing eye" or "paddling
of the swollen ass with
paddles"—and we need
to reclaim that pain.
Facebook forums
and Orientation Week
lunch tables are fraught
with braggartly claims
of math awards, SAT
scores and overfull
honors schedules.
So after the "rah-
rah" cult rituals and
hug circles of O-Week, cynical
upperclassmen should find those
freshmen who tout their petty,
high school accomplishments
and spank them with the paddle
of "Shut up. I don't care. What
have you done lately?"
"Guess how much AP credit
I have."
Shut up.
"Should I be a triple or qua-
druple major?"
I don't care.
"I was a national merit scholar
my senior year."
What have you done lately?
We all got into Rice. We're
all smart — or at least know a
member of the board of U'ustees.
No one cares.
These slimes are too big for
their britches, and the first week
of classes is the best time to help
freshmen face the facts. After all.
the point of hazing is to break
down new members so an orga-
nization can build them up.
Campus is already filled with
over-inflated egos, and the last
thing we need is another batch of
spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-childs
who think they're special just for
being here. Well, you're not special
until you do something here, for
Rice. So do it already.
Most professors are already on
the right track, especially in Orgo,
which seems to have the motto,
"Please, sir. may I have another!"
Besides, it's for freshmen's
own good. Awards, GPAs and
uninformed ambition will not help
all the freshmen pre-meds whose
medical experience is limited to
reruns of "St Elsewhere." And a
little academic hazing will help them
recognize that inconvenient truth.
So while hazing may be on the
down and out at most campuses,
it is time for Rice to reclaim its
tradition of academic hazing.
Evan Mintz is a Hanszen College
senior and executive editor.
Or what about Web
marketers? These
people make a living
by creating and
strategically placing
those make-the-rat-eat-
the-cheese banner ads
on Web sites.
But the biggest drains on society
are those in political power who use
their office to help themselves before
the American people. Our taxes pay
their salaries, furnish their offices
and finance their pet projects, and
our grocery money makes their
lobbyists' bribe money.
At least marketers, lobbyists and
the gaggle of corporate whores are
doing their jobs, drains on society
the Rice Thresher
Julia Bursten
Editor in Chief
Stephen Whitfield
Managing Editor
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ARTS ft ENTERTAINMENT
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PHOTOGRAPHY
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Executive Editor
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BUSINESS
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Bursten, Julia. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, August 24, 2007, newspaper, August 24, 2007; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443109/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.