The Rice Thresher

Location: http://the.ricethresher.org/opinion/2005/10/21/letters_to_the_editor

October 21, 2005 > Opinion > Letters to the editor

Letters to the editor

Hurricane Rita jokes hurtful, inappropriate

To the editor:

I have been biting my tongue for the past two weeks, listening to people say, “Hurricane Rita was such a bummer” and “Hurricane Rita was really nothing.” I have barely kept myself from shouting back, “The storm that destroyed my hometown was nothing?”

The closest I came to responding was during the three days I spent at Rice when my family and I still had no idea whether the many trees surrounding our house in Beaumont, Texas had fallen and destroyed it, which has happened to many people I know. A newly-restored cathedral had its dome ripped off by the storm. A mall was completely destroyed. The entire area where I live has been compared to a war zone. Power and water took two weeks to even partially restore and have still not reached my neighborhood. My family is still displaced, relying on the help of our relatives.

So the Backpage mocking Hurricane Rita (Oct. 7), five weeks after the Backpage mocked nothing in light of Hurricane Katrina (Sept. 2), infuriated me. I know that Hurricane Katrina was a bigger storm and that Beaumont will recover more quickly than New Orleans, but it is still hardly nothing. We haven’t asked for shelters or meals ready to eat or even a concert in New York to benefit us. Can we just have a little sensitivity to our plight?

In short, I would appreciate it greatly if everyone would give me some peace from the constant Hurricane Rita jokes. If nothing else, do it in the interest of being consistently politically correct, rather than picking and choosing who is worthy of having you take care not to offend.

Katy Mulvaney Baker freshman

Please, Backpage, bring back misclass

To the editor:

“Wait? Where did it go? Why has it disappeared? Can it come back? Oh how I miss it.”

This series of statements, questions and even pleas heard from countless readers of the Thresher all refer to one subject: the Backpage misclass. Why did the Thresher take it from us? Were we not funny enough? Did we no longer entertain?

I remember the glory days of the Backpage, during my freshman year of 2003-‘04, when the misclass was the absolute highlight of the section. Reading hilarious quotes submitted by students and staff, and then guessing the identity of the speaker of those quotes, was a great joy come every Friday. What could be funnier than reading hilarious statements made by peers and professors? From the profane to the ignorant, the misclass quotes always brought laughs to Rice.

So in this letter, I make a simple request. Please bring back misclass. Thresher readers, e-mail your funny quotes to the Backpage. Let’s bring back this once entertaining and laugh-inducing tradition, because nothing is more entertaining than reading dirty quotes made by professors, stupid questions asked by freshmen and drunken conversations covering a myriad of topics.

I will start misclass off with two humble contributions, in the hopes that it will inspire a flurry of future submissions. Rice is full of amazingly comical individuals, so allow misclass to prove this. Let’s read about all the hilarity that goes on between the hedges.

“Apparently, he likes to hang out with his wang out” — anonymous Martel junior about a wearer of low-riding pants

“Ecstasy — not a word I write or use very often.” — anonymous MUSI 421 professor

Lauren Freeman Martel junior

Creepy guys can find date on RTV5 show

To the editor:

Andrew Sinclair’s article fails to offer real solutions — how many guys are really going to “get off [their asses] and go talk to someone?” (“Confessions of a creepy guy: We’re not that bad,” Oct. 7) A new show on RTV5 called “Screw-Yer- Roommate — The TV Series” will be an easy way to boost dating at Rice, especially for the “creepy” guys Andrew described. Instead of the creepy guy asking a girl out himself — and risking painful rejection — this TV show will do all the work instead.

Creepy guys just need to relax, albeit in front of the video camera, and enjoy a fun date with a cute girl. I recommend that all the creepy guys (and gals) follow Sinclair’s advice and get off of their butts and do something about their situation — apply for the show!

Catherine Keeney Tiffany Truss Wiess seniors

Students urge Shell to mind Texas gulf

To the editor:

I would like to comment on an activity that took place Sept. 14. Students on campus working with the Gulf Restoration Network teamed up to call Shell U.S. Gas and Power CEO Jose Lima, with a very simple message: Texas wants and deserves closed-loop liquified natural gas terminals. Over 300 calls were made and several students spoke to Lima himself.

The current Shell projects propose using open-loop LNG terminals for sites in the Gulf of Mexico. These terminals would use hundreds of millions of gallons of the gulf’s seawater every day to process the LNG. This would kill billions of fish eggs, larvae and zooplankton, severely harming the commercial and recreational fishing industry as well as the environment of the region.

Right now, oil and gas companies like Shell are planning their next big wave of energy projects, including ones to import natural gas. One question remains: Will these corporations use safe and sustainable technology, or will they continue to short-change the Gulf Coast in search of higher profits?

Rory Chambers Lovett freshman

Viewers should urge television choice#

To the editor:

As producer of The Charles Snider Show at Houston MediaSource, I concede my thoughts may be subjective, but I know there are many fans of cable access at and around Rice University who would lament and grieve over the loss of cable access in Houston. It entertains but also informs.

The feedback viewers share with me shows a vast majority approve of and enjoy the vast majority of programs on Houston MediaSource. Individuals who disagree with or dislike a program may rightfully change the channel.

I urge the Houston MediaSource audience to write their respective council member to urge them to seek alternatives to the recent contract vote failure and to find ways to keep free speech alive and to keep clever entertainment on Houston television.

Charles Snider

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