The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 24, Ed. 1 Friday, March 31, 2006 Page: 3 of 24
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THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, MARCH 31,2006
Guest column
I
Rice disappoints with diploma delay
"Congratulations on complet-
ing a rigorous, four-year education
at an internationally renowned
university of the highest caliber.
Please accept this plastic
tube and enclosed poster.
Next."
In the time I have
been here, nothing the
administration has done
has infuriated me as
much as this latest in-
sult. Instead of receiving
diplomas at commence-
ment, the graduates will
be presented with an
inconsequential token
until the real documents
are printed and mailed six to
eight weeks later, as though we
ordered X-ray vision goggles out
of the back of a comic book. (See
story, page 1).
Jack
Hardcastle
In the time I have
been here, nothing the
administration has
done has infuriated
me as much as this
latest insult.
Administrators have offered
a number of different excuses,
which vary depending on the
administrator you talk to. One
administrator told me it was a
money issue. Another told me
the money was not a problem, but
that the manpower and logistics
required to hand out diplomas
at commencement were insur-
mountable. The third said the
outcry from about 30
alumni who inadver-
tently destroyed their
diplomas last year was
the primary reason we
will not receive our
diplomas May 13. It
turns out that cham-
pagne is the number
one cause of damage
to sheepskin diplomas,
followed closely by
beach balls.
Let me just say that
if you cannot be trusted to
protect and cherish your di-
ploma, you are not worthy of
the honor it bestows. Perhaps
the university should hold onto
yours—it can be kept it in the base-
ment of the Allen Center, under
glass, and you can visit it during
business hours.
By mailing them home, Rice
is able to print the diplomas the
Monday after commencement.
Seemingly, Rice administrators
figured they can save us the
trouble of having to transport
diplomas by mailing them to our
parents' addresses. But they for-
get those students who will not
be home six to eight weeks after
graduation — surely a sizable
proportion. Mailing diplomas
simply displaces the burden
of the university on hundreds
of graduates.
It seems to me the admin-
istration is not doing this for
us — it is doing it just to be like
other schools. Schools smaller
than Rice give out diplomas at
commencement, and schools
much bigger than Rice do not. It
is as if the administration has a
Napoleon complex about Rice—a
big university trapped in a small
university's campus. Wrong.
We are a small university, and
we need to embrace it. We are
not "on the cusp" of some divide
between the tiny liberal arts col-
leges and the big 50,000 student
state schools. We are a small,
well-rounded university with a
lot to offer. We should praise
the fact that we care about our
students — both graduate and
undergraduate — instead of try-
ing to be just like our older, bigger
cousins on the coasts.
This disaster occurred because
administrators did not foster com-
munication with the students.
Sure, they talked with the SA presi-
dent last summer — but with all
due respect, his administration did
not exactly represent the outgoing
graduates. Administrators should
have asked permission, rather than
waiting to seek forgiveness.
I have witnessed a lot of aggra-
vating actions at Rice — but this
latest fault is a truly unforgivable
error at the cost of the graduating
class. This affront will leave a bad
taste in my mouth for the rest of
my life. Development Office take
note: Do not expect much from the
class of 2006. I plan to vote — or
not vote — with my dollars from
here on out.
Jack Hardcastle is a senior and
former Wiess College president.
Rice Voices
Crowbar: Manly tool of destructive servitude
There is something about the
act of picking up a tool and smash-
ing things apart that inarguably
defines manhood. Think of Thor
and his mythical hammer,
Mjolnir. Sampson and
the donkey's jawbone he
used to kill 1,000 Philis-
tines. The single swing
of a club that brought
the monkeys from 2001:
A Space Odyssey to man-
hood. This spring break,
I joined the ranks of
the manly with my own
magical implement:
the crowbar.
I've ventured into
this arcane world of masculinity
in the past. During my childhood,
I did some woodworking with
hammers and nails. In Indus-
trial Processes Lab this semester, I
learned that ever-necessary skill of
welding—an almost-forgotten craft
that would have been a pillar of
the male experience if my welding
instructor had not been a woman
named Annie Jones.
But, my friends, remember
that the hammer is a herald-
ed icon of construction — not
destruction — as illustrated by
the Soviet hammer-and-sickle.
Welding inextricably involves the
fusing together of metal plates in
the creation of something larger.
Rising above these charlatans of
man-symbols, the crowbar is the
ultimate tool of destruction. Its
solid steel body is designed for no
purpose but to rend particle from
particle with glorious force, which
I demonstrated yea verily over
spring break.
At least four groups from Rice
ventured to New Orleans over
spring break this year. I went with
Campus Crusade for Christ to gut
damaged houses at the request of
homeowners. We hazarded pools
of stagnant water, mold in various
stages and petrified kitten cadav-
ers to bring our manly forces of
destruction to the Ninth Ward
O
Matt
Dunn
since Katrina. The homeown-
ers had determined that their
houses were somewhat salvage-
able and thus had requested that
we remove everything
from them — including
the walls, carpets and
ceilings — leaving but a
shell of the home.
Smashing down in-
terior walls and disman-
tling door frames was a
magnificent spectacle.
Even the ladies on our
team rejoiced in their
newfound manly work.
But the opportunities
for manhood also yielded
occasions for maturation. As we
labored and conversed with the
former residents, we had wonderful
opportunities to minister and pray
with them.
We salvaged one elderly cou-
ple's wedding portrait. Another
resident relayed the 115-year-old
history of the house we were
"renovating." One lady mentioned
her work helping Katrina victims
through her church even though
her own home was devastated.
Although this service project
helped me realize my manhood in
a new, brutish way, it also afforded
many opportunities to serve, learn
and grow. Like a magnificent samu-
rai, I was able to aid the downtrod-
den and hurt through violence
and skillful handling of my mighty
katana — I mean, crowbar.
Many of my friends who spent
their spring breaks doing less
strenuous duties remarked that
they felt a little guilty. I cannot
personally say whether a mission
trip or service project is more
worthwhile than spending qual-
ity time with family and friends,
but I am encouraged that many
students are attracted to service
and outreach. Such expectations
combat the impressions of apathy
that sometimes plague the Rice
student body.
Then again, perhaps they were
to demolish walls, ceilings, floor-
boards, furniture, light fixtures
and air conditioning units with
those superbly savage crowbars.
It is a liberating, macho experi-
ence that can only be simulated
by eating a four-pound steak and
raw potatoes.
As a young Padawan, I was
instructed by Master Obi-Wan that
the crowbar was "not as clumsy
or random as a blaster," but "an
elegant weapon." Nowadays, 1 tend
to relegate elegance to Victorian
novels and manhood to the ideals
of selflessness and service. The
crowbar is a simple reminder that
servitude — noble servitude — can
sometimes mean breaking things.
Matt Dunn
sophomore.
is a Martel College
Guest column
Spain fights Basque
terror with negotiations
The war on terror is usually
associated with the United
States. However, since long
before Sept. 11, 2001, Euro-
pean nations have
been dealing with
terrorist organiza-
tions. ETA, a Basque
separatist group
listed as a terrorist
organization by the
European Union, the
United States and
Spain, has sought
through violent
means the estab-
lishment of an in-
dependent, Marxist
state since 1959. On March
24, Spain and ETA signed a
permanent cease-fire.
ETA is responsible for rough-
ly 800 deaths in Spain, beginning
in 1968 with the murder of
Meliton Manzanas, the San Se-
bastian secret police chief, and
ending — hopefully — in May
2003 with the murder of two
police officers. Additionally, the
groupisresponsibleforthe 1979
assassination of Luis Carrer
Blanco, the man expected to suc-
ceed dictator Francisco Franco,
and the attempted murder of
Jose Maria Aznar — former
leader of the conservative Popu-
lar Party and Spanish president
from 1996 to 2004.
Searcy
Milam
Unlike whai President
Bush would have
us believe, you can
reason with terrorists.
Now, in the midst of the
global war on terror, Spain
has the unique opportunity to
improve national security by
reasoning with terrorists. This is
to say, contrary to the American
method, treat them like real
people whose opinions warrant
respectful consideration—even
if they are extreme in the eyes of
democratic administrations.
Last year, the Spanish par-
liament backed President Jose
Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of the
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
on his proposal to hold talks with
ETA — if the group would first
renounce violence and lay down
its arms. That time has come, but
Zapatero's administration is not
out of the woods. A March 22
televised cease-fire announce-
ment did not offer any comment
on the relinquishing of arms,
leaving both government offi-
cials and Spanish citi-
zens cautious. ETA's
reliability is also in
question, considering
a September 1998
indefinite cease-fire
that only lasted until
November 1999.
Zapatero's
challenge is to ne-
gotiate greater po-
litical freedom for the
Basques — or maybe
even just the illusion
thereof, if he is politically savvy
enough — while convincing ev-
eryone involved that the Basque
region should remain part of
Spain. The process will be lengthy,
and I cannot imagine either the
members of ETA or Basque paci-
fists ever sitting pretty until they
achieve an independent state.
Whatever the outcome, thisis
a pivotal moment in our present
world. Known terrorists and the
president of a member state of
the European Union are coming
together for peace talks and the
political independence based on
ethnicity and geographic history.
The international spotlight is on
President Zapatero, and he has
the opportunity to set global
precedent regarding the positive
collaboration between violent
separatist groups and demo-
cratic governments. His promise
to hold talks with ETA if they
were to disarm gave rise to this
ceasefire — the first hurdle has
been successfully cleared.
Many will criticize him for
meeting with the terrorists,
calling it moral weakness or
selling out Spain's decades-
young democracy. But I call
it smart. It is easier to fight a
known enemy. Invite them to
your office, offer them coffee,
even shake their hands.
These are real people with
fundamental principles and
beliefs that motivate their
actions. Call them separat-
ists, revolutionaries, rebels,
fanatics — they are real people.
Zapatero has the chance to
prove to the world that, unlike
what President Bush would have
us believe, you can reason with
terrorists if you begin with a
basic level of respect.
Searcy Milam is a Mess College
senior.
residences — virtually untouched simply jealous that they did not get
the Rice Thresher
David Brown
Editor in Chief
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Brown, David. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 24, Ed. 1 Friday, March 31, 2006, newspaper, March 31, 2006; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443123/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.