The Rice Thresher, Vol. 96, No. 23, Ed. 1 Friday, March 20, 2009 Page: 3 of 28
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Op-Ed
Newspapers indispensable to education
As part of its latest round of budget
cuts, the administration of Rice Uni-
versity has decided to cut one of the
most important resources that a uni-
versity campus can have: a subscrip-
tion to a daily newspaper.
Catherine Bratic
At the same meeting where Presi-
dent David Leebron announced a
5 percent increase in tuition, a tripling
over the past 20 years — even account-
ing for inflation — he informed stu-
dents that their daily subscriptions to
The New York Times and the Houston
Chronicle would be terminated.
That means no morning papers
in the college commons. No morning
crosswords over breakfast, no Style sec-
tion, no Sports section, no Business sec-
tion and no front page news.
Newspapers are at least as vital to
learning at Rice as our best professors.
Even the illustrious political science
professor Richard Stoll cannot teach
as much about international relations
as a week's worth of reading from The
New York Times's international news
section. Famed Houston sociologist
Stephen Klineberg cannot teach any
student as much about our city as a
read through the City and State section
of the Houston Chronicle and its letters
to the editor from concerned Housto-
nians. And it is frightening to imagine
how long an ECON 211 class would
take if it covered all of the information
in every day's Business section.
Considering the benefits, the price
tag of $30,000 a year to provide a paper
every morning for every student — less
than a professor's salary and much less
than a new classroom or a new building
— is a bargain. Clearly these are times
when cuts must be made, but this is not
an area that is so easily expendable.
The economy is hard, and it is af-
fecting newspapers too. More and
more papers are being forced to shut
down as households find they can no
longer afford a subscription.
1 will not pretend that the printed
word is not in decline, no more than 1
would pretend that the American dollar
is stronger than ever. But in our age of
Twitter and Facebook not every trend
should be followed. As the portion of
the incoming freshman class that fails
the writing entrance exam has rapidly
risen to 30 percent, and as students
spend more time watching television
than reading books, newspapers are
what we need most here at Rice.
Not only does reading a newspaper
connect students with their community
and the world beyond the hedges, it
gets students to read at least something
daily, and improves their writing and
vocabularies through regular exposure
to samples of excellent journalism.
Since the 17th century, newspa-
pers have been the main form of dis-
seminating information. Despite all of
the changes of the past four centuries,
newspapers remain. And f< >1 -rood rea-
son: There is nothing in the world com-
parable to the experience of holding the
day's news between your fingers.
In 2000, interim Associate Vice Pres-
ident for Student Affairs John Hutchin-
son, who preceded Robin Forman in the
position that became the Dean of Un-
dergraduates, instituted daily subscrip-
tions to the Times and the Chronicle,
available in each college's commons.
Having these newspapers in the
commons, instead of simply avail-
able online (as most papers are these
days) enormously increases the
chance that students will read them.
Furthermore, even if students do
not take the initiative to read these
papers, they at least cannot help
but see the day's headlines on their
newsprint placemats.
In an effort to diminish the impact
of what it must know is a terrible de-
cision, the university has generously
offered the colleges the "opportu-
nity" to purchase these papers with
their own funds. I strongly encourage
every college to do so, recognizing,
better than the Office of the Dean of
Undergraduates can, that newspa-
pers are essential to the undergradu-
ate educational experience.
However, administrators knew
that this would be an uphill battle
when they handed the decision down
to the colleges.
The residential colleges are, and
have always been, essentially social
institutions, more concerned with the
purchasing of kegs for Beer Bike than
they are with course offerings or facul-
ty excellence. Though they have done
an admirable job of administering col-
lege courses in recent years, the fact re-
mains that their design does not easily
accommodate educational priorities.
At Hanszen College, where my loy-
alty lies, the announcement of the ter-
mination of newspaper subscriptions
was immediately followed by a money
request to spend $2,000 on a new
66" television for the game room, an
amount that would easily cover 15 year-
long subscriptions to both The New York
Times and the Houston Chronicle.
There is a reason that you do not
let 19-year-old boys choose between
big screen TVs and newspapers, and
it is the same reason that you do not
let fourth graders choose between
history class and recess. It is the edu-
cational institution's duty to ensure
that its students are educated, and at
times, that means making important
academic decisions for them. Stu-
dents should not be forced to choose
between their social life and academic
lives. After all, that is the reason that
we are all paying Rice $30,000 a year:
because we trust that the university
can do a better job of educating us
than we ourselves could do.
However, given the university's de-
linquency in this matter, this is a time
for the students to prove to the adminis-
tration that they we know what is best.
I implore each college to stand up and
pay up for daily newspapers and all of
the benefits that they provide. Because
in times like these, newspapers are the
one thing we cannot afford to lose.
Catherine Bratic is a Hanszen
College junior and Thresher
News editor.
Service teaches gratitude, perspective
The sun was at just the wrong angle
for driving, glaring straight into my
eyes until they felt dry as splintered
wood. Just to keep awake, I forced my
eyes open wide enough for them to
fall out of their sockets; yet the world
still passed me by in a blur, and it
would be another half-hour ride to
the church down the narrow, winding
streets of Merida before breakfast; the
only good news of the morning was
that I was not driving.
*1
Michelle Phillips
This was going to be a long day.
All through the morning, I was
sullen and taciturn, too tired to be
excited about being in Mexico. Re-
painting our host church wasn't ex-
actly how we'd planned our Alter-
native Spring Break; I would have
preferred playing with children
or something that felt more use-
ful, but the church badly needed
touch up. Painting didn't require
any brainpower, though, so as my
brush traced the walls and window
bars lifelessly, my mind started
working through all the homework
I should have been getting done,
the work 1 had tossed and turned
all night in the hammock worrying
about. What was I thinking, coming
to Mexico? How am I going to catch
up on work?
That night, our host took my room-
mate and I to her sister's house, and
we visited with their family. As we
sat, the sister came up to me, handed
me some newly-bought sheets, and
insisted, despite my confusion, "For
you." My hand flew to my mouth in
astonishment: Knowing that I was
having trouble sleeping, they bought
sheets for me. I hardly knew what to
say; I could only manage to accept
their gift with a pathetic "Gracias."
I looked around at their beaming
faces and was struck with a pang of
guilt. Their meals consisted of a bowl
of rice while they made us a scrump-
tious feast for every meal. Many slept
in hammocks every night, but they
bought blankets for me to sleep on
the sofa. And yet I was still more wor-
ried about schoolwork than I was
about their needs, and I wasn't sure
if the stress to come once I got back
to Rice would be worth it.
My roommate and I got really close
to our host family. They cheerfully
put up with our broken Spanish, and
helped us learn more of the language.
They took us out almost every night
— to the teach, the parks, the plazas,
out to midnight snacks and to Mayan
ruins in the city. I struggled to keep up
with Spanish, but I was really having
the time of my life. When we were out
late, they would let us sleep in the next
morning and make us a delicious break
fast. Most of the time, I found that I had
completely forgotten about my school
work; the people were just so wonderful
that work seemed unimportant.
Towards the end of the week, the
team had also started interacting
with the children in the community.
We played games until we dropped,
did some skits for them (they
couldn't help but laugh at us), and
even with my limited Spanish, I got
to know a few of the kids very well.
For most of the games, they had to
translate for me, and we all laughed
over the stumbles I made in the lan-
guage. The very last day, one of the
girls came up to me and, in between
Spanish and English, managed to
say, "I will miss you."
As I gave her a grateful squeeze, I
realized that I would miss everyone:
our host, her family, the pastor, the
cooks. The list goes on. The commu-
nity was so happy to have us here,
even if all we were doing was a paint
job. And they had sacrificed so much
to make us comfortable. I looked
back, and wondered how I could
ever have forgotten how wonderful it
was to do service.
Homework? It could wait. I swear
I could hear the wind whisper, "Some
things are just more important." I
was in Mexico to help the people
there. And no matter how much en-
ergy it required, I could already see
that it had been more than worth it.
All of this, I discovered on my Alter-
native Spring Break. And for anyone
who may be considering an Alterna-
tive Spring Break, be sure you take at
least one before you graduate. It is
one experience you cannot miss.
Michelle Phillips is a Lovett
College freshman.
Stereotyping places unreason-
able expectations on Asians
There was a moment during the
recent Student Association elections
when I experienced a feeling I don't
think I ever expected to encounter at
Rice — I felt ashamed.
Courtney Ng
While reading the ballots for the
Rice Student Volunteer Program can-
didates, I came across a write-in bal-
lot that read, "some Asian girl." It is
difficult to express in words how that
comment made me feel, but I can
come close by calling it an overall
sensation of embarrassment, sad-
ness and anger. In that moment, I was
ashamed to be an RSVP member, to be
a Rice student and most of all, I was
ashamed of being Asian myself.
To most people, that reaction
might be considered extreme or even
unfounded, considering that the com-
ment was obviously meant to be a joke
that poked fun at the common concep-
tion about RSVP's racial makeup -
that we are all Asian. While that idea
is not only untrue, it also overlooks an
important point about the purpose of
RSVP. Since we are funded by blanket
tax money, which is composed of the
Student Activities fee we all pay as
Rice students, all Rice students are
technically RSVP members.
Even if you think you are unfamil-
iar with what RSVP does, you have
probably encountered us at least once
in your Rice career. We organize Out-
reach Days, awareness weeks that ad-
dress several social issues, carnivals
for children such as Project Pumpkin
and Spring Fling and we collaborate
on a regular basis with other volun-
teer organizations to ensure that vol-
unteer opportunities are available at
all times to Rice students. In short, we
are passionate, hardworking, diverse
individuals. We are not simply Asian.
Perhaps the reason the write-in
ballot angered me so much is because
this is not an isolated occurrence of
racism against Asians at Rice. Not only
was the same ballot written-in during
last year's elections and not removed
during the entire elections period, but
it was printed on the Backpage of The
Rice Thresher this year.
Furthermore, in the two years
I have been at Rice, I have heard
countless comments about the racial
backgrounds of those involved with
RSVP and volunteerism. I believe
that these racist comments place a
stigma on volunteering that makes
the experience seem limited to one
type of person, which discourages
other students from getting involved
with our programs.
Some might argue that associating
volunteerism with Asians isn't a form
of racism because volunteerism is a
positive act. To those critics, I say that
Asians do suffer from positive stereo-
typing, as they experience pressure
to be good at certain things and feel
like failures when they are not. At the
same time, when Asians do succeed,
people might view them as doing so
because they are Asian, which dimin-
ishes the satisfaction they receive in
their unique achievements.
Personally, as a multiracial Asian
and white female who studies an
thropology, loves to write and dance
and occasionally struggles to grasp
basic algebra concepts, I have al-
ways been haunted by positive ste-
reotyping. It seems that when I am
taking part in activities that people
see as "Asian," such as volunteering.
I am being unoriginal by conforming
to others' expectations of me. Simul-
taneously, if I pursue a field in which
Asians are underrepresented, I feel
like an "other," an outsider who is
betraying her Asian roots.
The worst aspect of positive ste-
reotyping is that it overlooks those
Asians who are struggling with the
same hardships that people of all rac-
es deal with — financial difficulties,
schoolwork and even social pressures.
As author Frank H. Wu writes in his
book, Yellow: Race in America Beyond
Black and White, "It is the stereotyp-
ing itself, not the positive or negative
valence it assumes temporarily that is
dangerous. ... A stereotype confines
its subjects." Therefore, stereotyping
volunteerism as an act only carried
out by Asians confines the appeal of
that act to one group, thereby alienat-
ing students of other racial groups.
At the same time, it makes Asians
who are involved with volunteer orga-
nizations feel as though they are doing
what they are expected to do, which
downplays their personal investment
and the value of their work.
a
The worst aspect of
positive stereotyping
is that it overlooks
those Asians who are
struggling with the
same hardships that
people of all races
deal with.
ft
While this column was not intend-
ed in any way to condemn a single
person, organization or even Rice as
a whole for these racist comments, I
can only hope that in the future the
Student Association, the Thresher and
other Rice students will have a more
heightened awareness about the dam-
age these comments can do.
I also implore the SA and the
Thresher not to condone such com-
ments by leaving them on the elec-
tions ballot or by printing them in our
school newspaper. Doing so not only
offends other Asian students, whom I
have spoken with and who feel simi-
larly about what occurred, but it does
not fare well for Rice's image on a local
and global scale. Anyone from outside
of our university who read that com-
ment might very well have assumed
that all Rice students feel it is okay to
stereotype Asians, which is not only
untrue now, but which I hope will be-
come even more inaccurate in the fu-
ture as we continue to raise awareness
about racism against Asians.
Above all, I hope that the end to
this form of covert stereotyping will
not only mean some relief for Asian
students at Rice, but that it will also
see the increased involvement of the
student body in volunteerism on
a regular basis. RSVP and many of
its partner organizations work tire-
lessly to get students off campus and
make Houston a better city for all of
its residents. To diminish that work
in the form of racism is perhaps the
most insulting way to attack the no-
ble cause of volunteerism. We are all
part of a university that prides itself
on its diversity, global-mindedness
and compassion for others. This is
why I continue to dedicate my time
to RSVP and whv I am speaking out
now, because I believe that as in
formed and intelligent students, we
can always, always do better.
Courtney Ng is a Hanszen
College sophomore.
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Michel, Casey. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 96, No. 23, Ed. 1 Friday, March 20, 2009, newspaper, March 20, 2009; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443137/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.