The Rice Thresher

Location: http://the.ricethresher.org/opinion/2007/10/26/letters_to_the_editor

October 26, 2007 > Opinion > Letters to the editor

Letters to the editor

By The Rice Thresher Editorial Staff | Thresher Editorial Staff

SA Environmental resolution necessary

To the editor:

While I was glad to see the Thresher’s devotion to environmental issues in last week’s edition, I found your editorial piece somewhat puzzling (“Environmentalism does not end at carbon, ” Oct. 5, 2007). Your staff seemed to imply that Rice was well on its way to fully addressing its energy issues and that our efforts were not necessarily “worthy of the university’s time and money.”

Rice has certainly taken steps to tackle its carbon emissions, and the Student Association Environmental Committee is very happy with the university’s commitment. Nevertheless, the issue of Rice’s carbon emissions is far from settled and to suggest that further improvement is not necessary is blatantly ignorant. The purpose of our resolution is to show student support for the issue and open up more dialogue between students and the administration so we can begin to make tangible progress on the matter, seeing as Rice has a long way to go before it could be considered carbon neutral.

Also, we have placed so much emphasis on carbon emissions not “because of its popularity,” but because of its importance. Mercury, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide all constitute significant environmental dangers. And many of our initiatives, such as buying renewable energy, would address these problems as well. But the urgency required to seriously address global warming means that we must prioritize. If we treat global warming as just another environmental issue, there is no way we will ever be able to muster the resources in time to effectively combat it.

Patrick McAnaney

Brown sophomore

Climate commitment earns commendation

To the editor:

We want to commend President Leebron for signing the President’s Climate Commitment, which pledges Rice to create a university-wide plan to become carbon-neutral. Leebron has taken a courageous step in making Rice one of the few prestigious research universities to sign onto this commitment and we truly thank him for being a leader in this regard.

This pledge demonstrates that the Rice administration treats climate change as a dire issue and is willing to invest the necessary time and resources in minimizing our university’s role in contributing to climate change. By promising to reduce its carbon emissions to zero, Rice has shown its deep concern for the serious potential social and environmental consequences of global warming.

We look forward to the next two years as the administration develops the institutional plan to reduce our greenhouse gas pollution. We are certain that with improved efficiency measures, the purchase of clean, renewable energy and the collective efforts of Rice students, faculty and staff to conserve resources, we can make tremendous progress towards reaching this goal.

Thanks again to President Leebron and the Rice administration for taking the initiative to create a better world for ourselves and future generations.

Karen Leu

Wiess senior

Member of Rice Environmental Club

Late professor truly part of Rice family

To the editor:

I attended Alan Grob’s retirement party in 2002, which is why I was so surprised, two years later, to hear from my cousin that she was taking Shakespeare from him.

I had been at the retirement party. Heard the kind words about his long and distinguished career. Seen the goodbyes said. And yet, her report was vivid: Dr. Grob in front of a class of students, getting sad-eyed over the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, again, to a roomful of breathless undergraduates. In another class, he was reportedly still sighing over John Keats’ passion and Wordsworth’s bucolic Lake District.

I wrote him a note, and he wrote back: “I also shamefully confess that the rumors about my pseudo-retirement and continued teaching are true,” he said. “Like an addict, I cannot lay off the stuff.”

Dr. Grob’s death is a terrible loss for Rice. He made you swoon for Matthew Arnold, yes, but more importantly, he was a tremendously interesting faculty member who made it his business to know and care about undergraduate students. He was frequently at lunch at Hanszen; he was always happy to shoot the breeze or debate the future of Rice. Whichever you were in the mood for.

It is impossible to properly memorialize Dr. Grob’s devotion to undergraduate education without contrasting it with the current tack of the university administration, which seems hell-bent toward larger and larger freshman classes, more focus on graduate studies, and less interest in undergraduates. But I think Dr. Grob — who was famous (infamous?) for his passionate oration (rants?) at faculty meetings — would not mind. He cared so deeply about how Rice’s academic policies and programs affected students that after he had a heart attack in 2000, he said he had to quit going to faculty meetings for the sake of his blood pressure. I do not exaggerate.

His namesake scholarship and fund for Shakespeare in performance are both fine ways to remember him, but the best way to honor Dr. Grob’s legacy is for both students and faculty to get to know each other, in the hope that more professors develop the kind of warm relationships with students that he had. He always showed up for lunch, and we were glad for it.

Elizabeth Jardina

Will Rice ‘01

Nestle Waters cares about environment

To the editor:

Nestle Waters shares Karen Leu’s concern for the environment, and our company has taken many steps to reduce its footprint (“Bottled water on campus contradicts sustainability,” Oct. 5). Our Ozarka Eco-Shape bottle has the least plastic content of any half-liter bottle currently on store shelves. Even though plastic water bottles make up less than one-third of one percent of municipal solid waste, we advocate for progressive recycling programs that would keep a greater number of all plastic containers — regardless of what they contain — out of landfills, with greater convenience for people.

Leu’s concern about bottled water quality, however, ignores significant differences in the volumes of water being processed. Most Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency quality tests are based on the same standards, and Nestle Waters meets or exceeds all FDA product safety regulations. In addition, we also test our water every hour.

Missing from the article is the fact that bottled water is a calorie-free, easily accessible alternative to sodas and other sugared beverages. Considering beverage calories have added a whopping 82,000 calories per year to our diets within the last decade, we should encourage all Americans to make a healthier lifestyle choice and drink more water, whether it comes from a bottle or a tap.

Jane Lazgin

Director, Corporate Communications

Nestle Waters North America

Exam schedule not under Honor code

To the editor:

After reading your story on changes to the academic calendar and exam scheduling, I thought I should clarify the statement that “in order for a reduction of exam days to be feasible, Siemann said that an Honor Code rule that prevents students from taking more than two exams every two days would need to be changed” (“New academic calendar could shorten final exam period,” Oct. 12).

While I can understand Dr. Siemann’s confusion since the Honor Council sets a number of policies on exam conduct, the rule he refers to is actually part of the General Announcements, not the Honor Code. To the best of my knowledge, the Honor Council had nothing to do with the creation of this rule. Additionally, we would not be responsible for changing it, nor do we have any plans to suggest any changes to it.

Ryan Stinnett

Sid Rich senior

Honor Council Chair

Museum assets open to student research

To the editor:

I read with interest Rachel Carlson’s on the Houston Museum of Natural Science article (“Marvels from Ethiopia and China on view at HMNS,” Sept. 21). I found her opening statement rather interesting: “Unless you belong to that rare breed of zealous museum types, it is unlikely that the Human Museum of Natural Science ever crosses your radar screen. Rice students live in a city that contains more weekend opportunities than can fill even the most ambitious of admissions brochures. So when we do peek over the hedges, it is not usually to look for a “wild frogs” exhibit or collection of ancient wine pitchers.”

The museum offers more than exhibits on wild frogs and assorted ancient wine pitchers. It is my understanding that Rice university students participate as volunteers with chemistry demonstrations. As Curator of Anthropology, I would also like to point out that there are opportunities for faculty and students alike to study artifacts from our collections. Please do not hesitate to contact the museum and see if we have an object from a culture you are considering writing a paper about. You might be pleasantly surprised. Students from other universities have done so already.

Dirk Van Tuerenhout

Curator of Anthropology

Houston Museum of Natural Science

’80 Party response letters send message

To the editor:

This letter is in response to a letter by Bill Wilson (“‘80s fallout shows need for conversation,” Oct. 12). I hardly think that the message that Mansinghani and Abrahamson convey in their letters can be compared to the message “conveyed to any blacks or Jews [in the 1950s south] who were getting ‘uppity’” (“Parties must yield to all religions,” Sept. 28, “Anger at party date pretentious, unfair,” Oct. 5). Wilson goes further: He tacitly compares these so called “offensive letters” to “an advertisement by Holocaust deniers.” If there was any doubt before that Wilson is being insincere none can remain when we compare, rationally, Holocaust denial, the ensuing outrage and a perfectly justifiable point: No religion has any more right to be considered than any other and that considering all of them leads to “absurd extremes.”

The point of Mansinghani’s clever satire was precisely that since the option of taking all religious beliefs under consideration in the planning of events (or servery menus) is absurd we should instead consider none. The message is not that Jews and Muslims should “keep quiet and stay in their place” but rather that Jews and Muslims have no more right to demand that the rest of us (a group which contains a sizeable number of non-believers) observe their religious practices than does anyone else.

Arturo Munoz

Hanszen sophomore

Students need public administration classes

To the editor:

The late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan once said, “It is a privilege to serve people, a privilege that must be earned, and once earned, there is an obligation to do something good with it.”

Students at Rice University, due to the immense potential and talent they possess, are obligated to serve the community in any possible means. The university provides the outlets to serve others with its various volunteer organizations, but also trains individuals to be more aware of the world’s needs. Yet, more can be done by establishing a public administration program for undergraduates and graduates.

Unlike creating a law school from scratch, Rice University already possesses the resources to sustain a top-notch program that can groom leaders with the practical skills in improving non-profit organizations and government agencies. The need today has never been greater with the challenges we face from health care to education to the environment. Even if this proposal is discarded, all members of the Rice family must strive to make Rice’s tagline “A Degree of Difference” a reality.

Leonard Chan

Lovett ‘07

Myriad of resources offered at Rec Center

To the editor:

The Rice Recreation Center sponsors Intramural sports free for students and staff to satisfy any curiosity. Our fitness programs, while not free, are certainly nominal in cost compared to commercial fitness centers in Houston. When something is free and good for the health, what does it take to get people to use it? Perhaps easier access to these resources? Or maybe a straight walking path that doesn’t involve cranes, backhoes or eerie chain link fences? Maybe it’s the poor air circulation, power outages or a lack of running water that deter interest. Or maybe it’s just a wake up call that your health is more than what you’re left with at age 50; it’s what you put into it now.

I’ve been watching the trends of student participation in recreational sports and fitness programs this semester and it’s pretty abysmal, at least compared to when I was a student at Rice. What exactly are students doing to get in their recommended daily activity?

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 30 minutes of moderate to rigorous intensity activities at least 5 days a week, and a side bar that more is better. That adds up to a mere 150 minutes a week. We’ve got over 10,000 minutes in a week to play with. Sure, sleeping is also very important to health but a sedentary lifestyle has shown to be just as, if not more, detrimental than lack of sleep, especially in college-age populations.

What’s written in large letters on this soapbox is that working out and resistance exercise is incredibly important to your mental and physical health. While it’s become a way of life on campus, hopefully construction and its inconveniences will not continue to deter students from getting the recommended healthy dose of physical activity. As a means to getting those not yet interested in braving the construction jungle, we’re offering a free week of fitness classes at the Rice Rec Center. Come and check out what we have to offer Oct. 29 - Nov. 3.

We’re trying out two new formats, Nia and a Group X Sampler, and have the regular standbys — yoga, Pilates, sculpt and hilo.

The group fitness schedule and more is always online and up to date at www.rice.edu/fitness.

AJ Moore

Interim Director of Fitness Programs

Rice Recreation Center

Missing flamingos should be free for all

To the editor:

At the beginning of the school year there was a festive flock of fake flamingos relaxing in the Will Rice garden. This fraternizing foursome of feathers sadly lost one of its members after the first weekend of school leaving the tearful threesome to tussle for tissues. This distressing disappearance however was just the beginning as the next two weeks brought about the departure of a pair of pink prizes. The remaining Phoenicopterus retreated behind the jalapeno bush in hopes that the heat would hide its home but alas, last weekend the final flamingo was filched.

I am not writing to get the flamingos returned; instead I am proposing that whoever has a friendly flamingo cooped up in their room let it free. Put it outside in some random place where it can hopefully make people crack a smile as they crawl to class, and if the flamingo decides to depart to another location let it go elsewhere and make others on a different route rosy. My hope is that one day all four flamingos will flock together at Rice once again if only just for a short while and make people really flocking happy.

Eastman Landry

Will Rice junior

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