The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, January 25, 2008 Page: 3 of 16
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THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, JANUARY 25,2008
Guest column
RUPD bike policy violates student rights
Announcements were made
as usual when I ate lunch last week.
But what was unusual was a Rice
University Police Department officer
giving one concerning bike
thefts. He explained that a
bike thief had been found
recently, but because the
stolen bikes had not been
registered with RUPD, they
could not prove the bikes
were really stolen property,
so the thief was released.
The officer explained that
to help prevent this sort
of thing from happening
again, RUPD was going to
great lengths to get people
to see the importance of registering
and securing their bikes: They were
collecting unlocked bikes.
Having first-week-of-classes wor-
ries and not being a bike owner, 1
thought nothing more of it for the
moment But the next day at lunch I
again heard a conversation roughly
like so: "Dude, they took my bike. My
bike is at RUPD."
"What? Forget that"
And it hit me that this final
part of the exchange was the right
emotional response.
You have probably seen the flyers
or received an e-mail explaining the
"Bike Theft Alert," but just in case you
have not seen the message, it reads:
"Recently, the University has been
plagued by a rash of bicycle thefts. The
University Police Department is work-
ing diligently to catch these thieves. In
addition, we are collecting and securing
unlocked and unregistered bicycles
from Jill across campus."
Why should RUPD feel ethically
responsible to remove our legal prop-
er ty? It is not RUPD'sjob to baby-sit our
things and take care of them. We are
the owners of our bikes; it is not their
business to mess with our property.
Vanessa
Johnson
RUPD's collection of bicycles is in
itself pseudo-stealing, even if it is with
good intentions. 1 sympathize with the
frustration RUPD feels as they come up
with ways to deter crime.
I understand that it is a
good idea to register your
bike so if it is stolen it can be
identified as yours and con-
firmed to be stolen property.
However, that does not jus-
tify this measure of "collect-
ing and securing unlocked
and unregistered" bikes
in an attempt to suggest
they become registered.
It is shocking that RUPD
feels they can relocate our
property when these belongings are
certainly causing no harm or offense
to anyone.
Why should RUPD
feel ethically entitled
to remove our legal
property? It is not
RUPD's job to hahy-sit
our things.
And why should we be so strongly
urged to registering our bikes?
Everyone is entitled to make "bad
decisions" if they want, such as eat-
ing ice cream sandwiches instead of
vegetables, running Baker 13 in the
rain or skipping a test. The conse-
quences of these actions are confined
to those who made the decision to
perform the actions, and as such
should not be regulated by society,
or specifically those we call the
"authorities." When consequences
for actions extend beyond the indi-
vidual — such as murder, libel or
other forms of harassment — it can
then be appropriate for society to
regulate such behavior. Deciding to
not register a bike hurts no one; the
only potential serious consequence
is regretting not having done so if a
criminal gets away with keeping your
bike because it could not be proven
to belong to you.
I do not intend to show any disre-
spectto RUPD, just disrespect for their
actions in this matter. What I hope
they will opt to do instead is just leave
notes on the bicycles they target, as
the Thresherh'dd suggested back when
RUPD was relocating belongings left
unattended in the library, which would
be much less invasive ("RUPD: Stop
stealing," Oct 26,2007).
I know if a thief is found with an
unregistered stolen bike, it is hard to
prove that it is stolen and therefore
the criminal can be released, but
what is more important than letting
petty criminals run free is maintain-
ing everyone's individual righ h;, and
1 see RUPD's taking up bikes as an
example of a threat to such rights.
Even beyond the hedges, I hope
that this event can serve as a small-
scale example of what happens when
people surrender up responsibilities
for safety. Yes, I know RUPD does not
aim to become the Big Brother who
tells us 2 + 2 = 5 in the style of George
Orwell's 1984, but the mindset is the
same/The authorities are taking care
of the people.
As Benjamin Franklin said,
"Anyone who trades liberty for se-
curity deserves neither liberty nor
security." An individual is entitled
to the "bad decision" of flying a kite
in the rain.
Vanessa Johnson is a Will Rice
College sophomore.
Esoteric references
A philosophical theory of professorial passion
With the Latin American Studies
debacle of the past couple of semes-
ters, a few humanities and social
sciences professors have taken the
stage in some less-than-
flattering spotlights.
Professors are blamed,
sometimes deservingly, for
causing discontent among
their students and their
peers. People around cam-
pus talk a lot about problems
they have with distribution
and minors, and students
often get frustrated to learn
that the distribution buck
stopsat their professors'will-
ingness—or lack thereof—
to engage in Rice bureaucracy. Amidst
this winter of discontent, students and
faculty alike rarely take time to reflect
on the positive impact Rice professors
can have on their students.
Professors who specialize in small-
group seminars and active of fice hours
at Rice seldom get the recognition they
so thoroughly deserve. But for the next
few hundred words, I want to reverse
that trend. This column is dedicated to
one of those pillars of Rice's schools of
humanist studies. His name is Mark
Kulstad, and he has two great pas-
sions in this world: Gottfried Wilhelm
Leibniz, and his students. Kulstad
has taught philosophy at Rice since
1975, and he chaired the department
during the first Bush's presidency.
Since 1 arrived at Rice, he has been
the department's undergraduate major
advisor, and he was thefirst philosophy
professor I ever had.
Kulstad's enthusiasm in that first
philosophy class, a survey of the later
history of the field, was absolutely irre-
sistible. He flew across the chalkboard,
spilling clouds of dust and praise for
the natural philosophers of the early
Modern period. He narrated the prob-
lem of Descartes' evil demon with the
Julia
Bursten
and the intensity of a hungry Labrador
puppy. The combination of straight-
forward explanation and pleading for
participation enraptured die class, and
as we students walked out
of the classroom, we would
whisper to each other
our guiltiness about not
reading the assignments
closely enough.
As the semester went
on, I expected Kulstad to
drop the act The passion
he brought to every class
seemed exhausting: He
occasionally lost control of
hischalk, his gesticulations,
or the volume of his voice
in the midst of a rapturous retelling of
Berkeley's idealism or Hume's theory
of the passions.
But when I began visiting Kulstad
during his office hours, I realized
he had not relented in his feverish
performance because there was no
act to drop. I have never quite been
able to get over how much this man
simply loves teaching philosophy, or
how rewarding it is to find myself on
the other end of that infatuation. His
eagerness is literally infectious, and 1
was particularly susceptible.
I have been plopping down in Kul-
stad's office chair a couple of times
each month since that first philoso-
phy class, and my motivation to pur-
sue my own doctorate in philosophy
always rekindles itself before 1
leave. The conversations 1 have
from that chair often begin as chats
about classes—although not neces-
sarily his courses — but the talk is
easily diverted from curricular wor-
ries. 1 have found invaluable counsel
on switching majors, dealing with life
as an undergraduate and selecting
graduate programs from my seat at
Kulstad's desk.
The moral of these stories is that
die course of my life and he has kept me
going on that new course. When I walk
out of the Sallyport in a few months
and point my diploma in philosophy
toward graduate school, I will know
exactiv who to thank—and I will wave
a tearful goodbye to his office as I go.
And witii all die passionate professors
diat populate Rice's humanities and
social sciences departments, 1 am
fairly sure I will not be die only one
mourning die loss of a mentor. So
thanks, Professor K, and thanks to all
the professors who devote their lives
to changing those of their students. 1
hope I can join you someday.
Julia Bursten is a Ijwett College senior
and former Editor in Chief.
Weird turned pro
Downtown a hidden gem
of opportunity and hijinks
if i say the word "Houston,"
what first comes to your mind?
If you had asked me that ques-
tion two years ago, I would have
responded, "well, there
is Rice, a Chipotle in
the Medical Center,
Target, and you can
take the METRORail
to see cheap movies on
Monday nights."
For some Rice stu-
dents this humble de-
scription does well
enough until gradua-
tion. Believe it or not,
though, that painted
skyline that looks down
upon Willy from the northeast is
more than just a picturesque land-
scape to make students feel more
urban. They call it Downtown.
The relationship between
downtown Houston and Rice
University is intriguing, perhaps
due to the contrast between the
two. Most people think of New
York City when they hear the
word urban. Maybe you are like
me, conjuring images of street
vendors selling unpronounce-
able foreign foods to yuppie Wall
Street twentysomethings before
they take the Subway to their
SoHo apartment and jump in
their Egyptian cotton sheets. That
does not jive with the definition
of urban that Rice students come
to know during their time here.
Rice knows an oversimplified,
urban Houston that separates
its culture into neighborhoods.
There is intellectual indulgence
in the Museum District, trendy
restaurants dotting the Montrose
and Westheimer area and normal
people basically everywhere else.
We know urban in terms of urban
sprawl. We know blue collar,
Texas urban.
It is unfair to dismiss Down-
town Houston just because it is
Kyle
Barnhart
has a large and unique library
that you have never been to be-
fore. Historic buildings like the
Rice Hotel stand in contrast to
newer developments
such as the Houston
Pavilions that are just
now starting to take
shape in the constantly
renovated area.
Considering how
hard Rice pushes its
students to experience
life outside the hedg-
es, it is a bit depress-
ing that Rice students
do not venture there
more often. Parties
like 100 Days and annual tradi-
tions such as Esperanza have
been held at downtown venues
in recent years. Rice's Passport
to Houston program even goes
as far as giving everyone a map
of Houston and free METRO fare
at the beginning of every year.
And yet the message still hasn't
quite permeated our gooey Rice
brains. What's missing?
Despite these depressing
realities, 1 think Rice is ready
and waiting. Spending Friday
and Saturday nights confined to
Rice Village and on-campus par-
ties gets tedious if not downright
boring after a couple of years.
We're anxious to find a new place
to recklessly spend hard-earned
money besides Two Rows and
Urban Outfitters. Downtown
Houston just needs to signal us
with some targeted advertising
and word-of-mouth marketing.
Potentially, Houston Pavilions
could be the shopping and party-
ing destination to attract us away
from the Village and into the city.
Think of it as the new Galleria,
except there is a free, fast way
to get there at any conceivable
hour of the evening.
There is a certain unique
not the Carrie Bradshaw-urban aesthetic that clings to that
we know and love from televi-
sion. Downtown has all the
charm and grandiose fervoryou
would expect from menacingly
tall buildings and paved side-
walks, with a few twists and turns
that make it unique to Houston.
Nearly all Rice students are
familiar with the three-block
walk from the METRORail to the
Angelika, which is honestly not
the most incredible part of the
city at 9 p.m. on a Monday night.
But walk a few blocks north of
Bayou Place and suddenly you
are standing at the crossroads of
a jazz club, an upscale restaurant,
and a hookah bar. For those of
you into reading, yes, downtown
Downtown Houston skyline.
Maybe it's the monolithic stature,
with JPMorgan Chase Tower
inching ever-so-slightlv past an
ocean of rounded glass and sharp
precipices. It is a pity that such a
beautiful image must be admired
from inside the security of the
hedges rather than from inside
the concrete jungle itself. When it
conies to Rice students and Hous-
ton, I think Paul Wall said it best,
"You don't know nuthin' bout my
town." We should probably take
that as a challenge and venture
into it a little more often.
Kyle Barnhart is a Will Rice
College junior.
tongue-in-cheek ease of Mark Twain one man at tiiis university has changed
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Whitfield, Stephen. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, January 25, 2008, newspaper, January 25, 2008; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443110/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.