O-Week: The good, the bad and the boring
Orientation Week has always been a time of transition, and the orientations themselves often undergo revisions from year to year. O-Week 2006 saw changes in student conduct and safety orientations, the revamping of the Rice Rally, new academic department lunches, new speeches during adviser training and O-Week and a common reading program for new students. (see story, page 1)
New writing exam efficient and effective
For years, the English composition exam was one of the most painful parts of O-Week. Last year's exam posed an even greater inconvenience when MIT graders failed to score the tests in time for registration. But with the help of Director of Managerial Communication Deborah Barrett, Rice has recovered with an efficient, effective and self-sustained system (see story, page 1).
Global health program looks promising
We commend Bioengineering Department Chair Rebecca Richards-Kortum and everyone else who helped bring Beyond Traditional Borders to Rice. (See story, page 10) This new program seems ready to tackle Rice's poor record with interdisciplinary programs and will build a bridge between academs and S/Es. The mentorship program and sponsored trips to developing countries will help students apply what they learn, with the world to benefit.
Rice relevance key to quality opinion page
· Opinions are like assholes -- everyone has one, and not everyone wants theirs printed in the Thresher. But every week, the Thresher opinion section finds three people willing to moon the Rice campus, journalistically speaking. Those three are brave enough to put a column out there, slap an ugly mug shot on it, and wait for readers' reactions Friday morning.