The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 21, Ed. 1 Friday, February 23, 2007 Page: 1 of 24
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the Rice Thresher
Vol. XCV, Issue No. 21
SINCE 1916
Friday, February 23, 2007
Candidates debate
SA goals, mission
by Jennifer Luo
THRESHER STAFF
The three candidates for Stu-
dent Association president dis-
cussed the SA's visibility and the
organization's role in campus-wide
communication Monday night.
SA Internal Vice President
Laura Kelley, Hanszen Col-
lege president Stephen Rooke,
and Andrew Chifari and Gillian Ser-
by — who are running on the same
ticket — debated at Farnsworth
Pavilion. Thresher Editor in Chief
David Brown, a Brown College
senior, and Thresher Senior Editor
Julia Bursten, a Lovett College
junior, moderated the debate.
Voting begins today at noon and
will end Wednesday at 1 p.m. Stu-
dents can vote online at sa.rice.edu.
Each candidate answered six
moderator questions — four gen-
eral questions and two questions
specific to each candidate. They also
responded to two audience questions
addressed to all candidates and two
candidate-specific audience ques-
tions each.
In her opening statement, Kelley,
a Brown junior, said she wants to
increase the visibility of the SA by
making the SA retreat at the begin-
ning of her term open to all students.
She said she would implement office
hours to make the SA more acces-
sible and would improve communica-
tion between the administration and
students. Kelley also said she would
expand orientation activities for mid-
year transfer students.
Rooke, a junior, said he would like
to improve the way the SA communi-
cates with students by publishing a
bi-weekly article containing activities
and club information. He said he
wants to work with clubs to coordinate
activities on weekends and increase
the involvement of the senators in
their colleges. Rooke said he also
would like to increase the visibility of
the SA president at student events.
Chifari, a Martel College junior,
and Serby, a Martel senior, want to
make the SA more attractive to the
DIANA YEN/THRESHER
The SA presidential debate between SA Internal Vice President Laura Kelley (right), Hanszen College President Ste-
phen Rooke (left), and running mates Andrew Chifari and Gillian Serby was televised live on RTV-5 Monday night.
student body. Chifari apologized for
his campaign last year, in which he
proposed to minimize the role of the
SA. He proposed in this debate to
reform elections and create a lower
ratio of students to SA representa-
tives, so each senator represents a
fewer number of students. Chifari
also said he would randomly draw
opinions from 100 or more students
for a more balanced representation
of campus opinion.
Moderator Questions
First, the candidates were asked
what resolutions they would pass if
elected president.
Chifari said he would resolve
to make the SA more visible and
accessible by making information
such as the SA budget available on
the SA Web site.
Rooke said he wants to dispel
the negative connotation of the
word "resolution."
"The resolutions are supposed
to be a tool for the Student Associa-
tion to help provide opinions to the
student body and the Faculty Sen-
see DEBATE, Page 6
%
Tuition to increase by 7.1 percent
by Lily Chun
PH K1 >H KR Kl UTORLAI STAFf
AMORETTE KWAN THRESHER
Let's engineer it!
The first annual Engineering Competition Wednesday featured more than 40 teams of three. Tasked
with keeping a Ping Pong ball off the table for exactly two minutes, teams were evaluated on speed
of assembly, efficient use of materials and accuracy. The winning design was created by Lovett Col-
lege juniors Arthur Zhang, Matt Rooney and Brent Biseda.
New students will pay $28,430 in tuition and
fees next year, up 7.1 percent from the $26,974
freshmen are paying this year. Returning stu-
dents will pay about 5 percent more than this
year, and all students will pay $10,250 for room
and board — a 6.9 percent increase from $9,590,
the current cost of living on campus.
Tuition and fees were approved by the Board of
Trustees and anm mnced Tuesday. Vice President
ofEnrollment Chris Munoz said tuition was raised
to maintain the quality of the university.
"The most important factor [in raising tuition |
is the investment into The Vision,'which relates
to maintaining and increasing the quality of
programs, faculty and support that a university
requires with administrative systems," he said.
Rice's tuition is still $6,(XX)-8,(XX) less than
that of other peer schools, and Rice graduates
have one of the lowest average debts when they
graduate, Munoz said.
"With students who have financial need, as
[tuition ] goes up, we don't give them more loans."
TUITION & FEES
Seniors
$24,770
Juniors
$26,430
Sophomore
$28,430
Entering students
$28,900
Graduate students
$28,400
Professional
$24,330
masters students
M.B.A. students
$32,150
Figures are for 2007- 08.
Munoz said. "We give them gift assistance. No
student who has financial need should borrow
more than $15,(XX)."
At Princeton University next year, the cost of
tuition will remain the same as it was last year:
see Tl ITI () N, Page 6
Columbia prof Marable: Blacks in
higher ed face significant barriers
by David Brown
mm sHFR KDITOKIAI. STAFF
In the face of dying Affirmative Action
programs and the weight of past and pres-
ent discrimination, African Americans face
tremendous barriers in achieving equality in
higher education, acclaimed scholar and jour-
nalist Manning Marable said in his President's
Lecture Series address Tuesday.
'Trends suggest the vast majority of African
Americans, American Indians and most I iitino
students in the Untied States still continue to
function under a kind of — using the South
African term—education apartheid," Marable
said, citing racial disparities in college enroll-
ment figures. "Nearly two generations after
the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that
outlawed Jim Crow in the United States, we still
have a kind of colorblind Jim Crow that exists
in 21 ' century American education."
Marable, a professor of public affairs, politi-
cal science and history at Columbia University,
also founded the school's African-American
studies program. His speech concluded a day
of panels and lectures commemorating the
40th anniversary of the first black students
to enroll at Rice and earn degrees.
In his speech, Marable evaluated the past
and present successes of African Americans at
the undergraduate, graduate and faculty levels
in American universities before denouncing
recent federal court-induced rollbacks of
Affirmative Action programs.
He began with stories from his own fam-
ily: Following the Civil War, Marable's great
grandfather — born a slave — sent his 13
children to school and memorized the Bible
despite being unable to read.
"His illiteracy, however, did not prohibit
him from trying to improve the lives of his
see LECTURE, Page 4
INSIDE
Academic deadlines
Mid-semester grades for first-year
undergraduates are due today at 5 p.m.
via the online grade submission process
in ESTHER.
Today is also the last day to withdraw
with a 30 percent refund of tuition.
College course plans are due today to
the Dean of Undergraduates Office.
Leebron office hours
President I)avid l^eebron will hold office
hours Monday from 3-4 p.m. in his office
on the fourth floor of the Allen Center.
All students are welcome to chat with the
president about any questions or concerns
they have about the university.
Vote!
Voting for the 2007 General Election
starts at 12 noon today. Vote online
at sa.rice.edu. Voting will end at 1
p.m. Feb. 28. and the results will be
announced in the March 2 issue of
the Thresher.
OPINION Page 3
Secondhand Stereotyping
A&E
Campus Guitar Heros
Page 8
Sports
Focus on iMuren Neaves
Pages 18-19
Quote of the Week
"I had to face people who questioned my qualifi-
cations for being at Rice."
— History Professor Alex Byrd. describing the
cultural shock he felt during his Orientation
Week. See Story, Page 5.
Scoreboard
Baseball
Rice 7, Dallas Baptist 1
Men's Basketball
UCF 74. Rice 63
Women's Basketball
Rice 50, Tulsa 45
Weekend Weather
Friday
Cloudy. 62-72 degrees
Saturday
Scattered T storms, 47 73 degrees
Sunday
Mostly sunny, 46 70 degrees
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Brown, David. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 21, Ed. 1 Friday, February 23, 2007, newspaper, February 23, 2007; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443177/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.