The Rice Thresher

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April 15, 2005 > Opinion > Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

Course evalutions best when in class

To the editor:

I was happy to see the article about online course evaluations (‘Written course evaluations not online for registration,’ Apr. 1) and hope that they are made a priority for the Student Association this year. The reason for scanning written evaluations is that more students will fill out an evaluation in class than if it is done after class on their computers. Think about it: It is the last day of class ­— the atmosphere around your college is not one of dutifully filling out evaluations. As the evaluations are already scanned and made available to faculty, there would be little cost (and little work) involved in making the evaluations available to students.

Michael Leggett Wiess ‘04 2003-‘04 SA co-President

Enjoy education, do not suffer through it

To the editor:

Searcy Milam wrote that senior theses would help create academic unity (‘Senior thesis could create student unity,’ Mar. 25), and in the next issue, Amy Conley responded that the pain of going through difficult coursework was enough unity for all (‘Pain creates enough academic unity for all,’ Apr. 1). This response illuminates the distinction between Rice and its peer institutions.

At Rice, it’s not about a love of learning, or as Milam puts it, ‘those moments of intense despair or enlightened productivity.’ No, at Rice, we are proud of, as Conley puts it, our ‘pain, suffering and evening exams.’ The problem with this mind-set is that we simply live for the effects and completely forget about the cause.

Why are we here? To ‘forever share the bond of the abused’ or to finally be able to say at the end of four years, ‘Hey, I understand more than I did before — I’ve grown’? The value of an academic experience should not be measured by how much we suffer to get through it. It is not at all about pushing crankily to meet deadlines at all costs.

So if you feel ‘chatty at 3 a.m.,’ so be it. We should be discussing all the ideas we discover through classes and life. We should be excited to learn from each other. Conley argues that ‘Rice students have long celebrated our individuality’ and ‘academic homogeneity is not a defining Rice characteristic.’ But a senior thesis is precisely the opposite of academic homogeneity. It requires each student to think deeply about his or her own chosen interest. It seems that for Conley, the ‘defining Rice characteristic’ is being caught up on the surface of learning, never getting to the deeper questions. Where is the individuality in that?

Angela Hsu Baker senior

Put safety before fun at Beer-Bike

To the editor:

Everyone who attended Beer-Bike this year undoubtedly saw the horrific and nearly tragic crash that had Larry Fossi (Will Rice ‘79) carried off the track in an ambulance. I understand that Beer-Bike and many events on campus have risks. The problem with this crash, however, was that it was between a biker and a runner.

I appreciate that not every college treats Beer-Bike the same, especially compared to Will Rice. And while seeing Martel send runners on the track and other teams sending joke riders in different races in previous years is an amusing tradition, it’s one we have to reexamine. I’m not being melodramatic when I say that someone could have died in a completely preventable accident.

Beer-Bike demands that colleges field teams of bikers who are traveling at average speeds of 25 miles per hour or faster. We have to recognize the inherent danger of interfering with any aspect of a race in which this is the case. We currently go out of our way to make both the drinking and the parade route safe. It seems like a reasonable and prudent gesture to prohibit any college that is not serious about riding and being safe on the track from entering a team in the race.

I’m confident that the colleges, the Graduate Student Association and those responsible for Beer-Bike next year will act accordingly to ensure that what happened to Fossi never happens to anyone again.

Derrick Matthews Will Rice senior 2004-‘05 SA president Will Rice bike captian

Library a haven for sexual predators

To the editor:

To a sexual predator, Fondren Library is a labyrinth of quiet, dark corners. Last weekend a friend of mine was studying in the back of the second floor of the library when a man who was clearly not a Rice student exposed himself to her. Fortunately, the man left after she pleaded with him to leave her alone.

This disgusting and humiliating incident is not isolated, and it highlights a serious lack of security at our library. Anyone can enter by jotting down an alias and a fake driver’s license; potential criminals are free to enter a six-story building where girls study alone and unattended laptop computers abound.

The library must improve its security. It should imitate Autry Court by requesting and withholding the driver’s licenses of all non-Rice individuals who seek to enter the library. Identification should only be returned upon the visitor’s exit. The library must improve its system of visitor accountability to ensure all people and property are safe.

Jordana Mosten Will Rice junior

North Servery has poor service, timing

To the editor:

After wrapping up a 500-mile Spring Recess road trip, I was relieved to make it back to Rice just in time to catch dinner on Sunday night. That was because I forgot the North College Servery no longer stays fully open until 7 p.m., but rather finishes putting everything away by that time.

Walking into the servery at 6:55, I was warned that five minutes remained. Well, duh. I could grab dinner in five minutes — if only there were some food left out. All of the main dishes, the vegetarian section, the sandwiches, of the salad bar were put away. The only things remaining were hamburgers, the other half of the salad bar, leftover pasta and some rice and steamed vegetables. I asked after the chicken breasts and the response I got was, ‘We close at 7.’

I ordered some hamburgers, and when they didn’t come the person I had asked was hostile and tried to convince me I had either already received them or never actually asked for them. Earlier in the week, I was walking around the servery at 6:40 when I noticed one of the dishes I was going to get had suddenly disappeared. I asked where it went and was told it was no good — it had been out for too long.

These are not isolated incidents. The situation at the North Servery has gotten consistently worse, and I have come to expect a hassle every time I try to get dinner within a half hour of closing time. This is really disappointing, and I hope the staff finds the time to talk to the staff at the South College Servery, where I have never had similar trouble.

Stephen Dictor Martel sophomore

Beer-Bike should be fun, not hostile

To the editor:

There were several moments throughout the Saturday of Beer-Bike in which I have never been happier to be the Assistant Director of Student Activities at Rice. The enthusiasm and spirit demonstrated at Beer-Bike 2005 were certainly not out of the norm for this annual event, but nevertheless, I was truly moved at how one event can unite a university. I am always so excited to share with my colleagues at other institutions of higher education how terrific my job is and, much more importantly, the level of dedication, commitment and inner drive that generally characterizes the entire Rice population.

I am sorry to say, though, that at the time of writing this letter, I have lost that perspective — albeit momentarily, as I know Rice will once again make me smile. I must admit that I was extremely disappointed at the anger and hostility that, for me, has come to overshadow this tremendous campus-wide event.

To all Rice students, staff and faculty who took part in Beer-Bike this year, was there ever a moment while trying to cut off a second from your lap or chug time, filling a water balloon or driving a cattle car around a bunch of screaming undergraduates when you did not enjoy what you were doing? Unfortunately, for some of you, the answer is yes. To those individuals who have forgotten that Beer-Bike is supposed to be fun, I sincerely hope you don’t approach life or relationships as you do Beer-Bike.

Holly Williams Assistant director of Student Activities

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