The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 59, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 13, 1972 Page: 1 of 8
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Growing controversy centers on Commerce Department
by MORTY RICH
Applications by the Com-
merce department to open its
programs to all Rice students
has drawn waves of violent
opposition; from many mem-
bers of the Department of
Economics and Accounting.
Members of the commerce
dept., however, listed several
advantages of an open depart-
ment: first and foremost, it
would provide an opportunity
for all students, not just ath-
letes as is currently the case,
to take courses which would
provide them with practical
business knowledge rather than
theory. Also, they say, it would
provide more, academic com-
petition for the athletes who
are in the program currently.
Assistant professors Largay
and Johnson of the accounting
department have presented a
report challenging the native
ability of the typical commerce
student. They conclude that
most do not have the ability
to make it in accounting with-
out difficulty.
They said in part: "... it
was interesting to note the
rather significant spread be-
tween the 8 year average CEEB
scores (1963-1970) of the non-
athlete Rice freshman versus
the Commerce athletes. The
non-athlete freshmen averaged
703 (98th percentile) on the
math exam while the Commerce
athletes averaged 529 (60th
percentile). On the verbal
exam, the non-athlete Rice
freshmen averaged 665 (96th
percentile) and the Commerce
athletes averaged 466 (38th
percentile). Although the Com-
merce athletes' performance on
these exams approximates the
national average of 500 on each
exam, their scores are far be-
low those of other Rice stu-
dents with whom they must
compete. This is important for
it may suggest how these stu-
dents would perform in a qua-
lity business program. Such
programs exist at other schools
with students having the ap-
proximate quality of the Rice
non-athlete freshmen. Conse-
quently, a business program
worthy of the Rice tradition
would probably be modeled si-
milar to these other programs
(e.g., Pennsylvania, Stanford,
Chicago, Cornell, Michigan).
The present Commerce pro-
gram seems representative of
business programs so prevalent
during the decade of the 50's,
with its reliance on descriptive
and institutional material. The
modem business program,
drawing heavily on the basic
disciplines of economic theory,
mathematics and the behavioral
sciences would be far more
difficult for the Commere ath-
letes to successfully complete."
Dr. Ferdinand Levy of Eco-
nomics refers anyone question-
ing the quality of the depart-
ment to the textbooks being
used, as they can see for them-
selves what he regards as a
low instructional level.
Dr. Levy lists other reasons
for not opening the department.
He says that schools of Rice's
caliber are slowly dropping
their undergraduate business
programs in favor of expanded
graduate departments. This fa-
vors a plan of liberal education
for the undergraduate years,
with specialization being in-
troduced later. Thus, there is
no need for an undergraduate
business program. Dr. Levy,
incidently, is leaving Rice this
year to become Dean of the
School of Industrial Manage-
ment at Georgia Tech.
Largay and Johnson, how-
ever, feel that "... a limited,
rigorous undergraduate pro-
gram having a business orienta-
tion can be desirable ... It
might be noted that the nucleus
of such a program already ex-
ists at Rice in form of courses
offered by several departments
on campus. In fact, several of
these courses could replace pre-
sent courses offered by the
Commerce Department and, in
so doing, represent a substan-
tial improvement."
Sources close to the Com-
merce dept. have suggested ul-
terior motives for all the op-
position. The Economics depart-
result in a smaller faculty al-
location for Economics in the
future.
Chairman Hale of the Com-
merce department was con-
tacted but had only an official
"no comment" as reply to his
critics. However, he says he has
extensive facts and figures
compiled in his office for any-
one who is interested in learn-
ing why the department should
be opened, or what other
schools are doing with regard
to undergraduate schools of
business.
The issue is currently being
considered by the Committee
for Undergraduate Curriculum
headed by Dr. Steven Baker.
Their decision could affect on-
ment would most certainly loose;^ portunities as well as the fu-
a sizable contigent of its ma-| tures of Rice undergraduates
jors, they say, and this will"® for years to come.
Negotiations begin on coed colleges
by BRIAN BUCHANAN
Co-ed colleges at Rice are near-
ing realization. Recommenda-
tions submitted a few weeks
ago to Dr. Hackerman by- the
President's Co-ed College Com-
mittee have been accepted.
Hackerman then presented
the proposals to the Board of
Trustees who approved the con-
cept of co-ed housing, but ex-
pressed some reservations about
the methods suggested for its
implementation. However, the-;/
empowered Hackerman to re-
solve the points of difficulty,
and continue work on the proj-
ect.
Notification of incoming
freshmen and their parents and
alternative housing arrange-
ments for students who wish
to remain on campus but not
be involved in co-ed housing
are two of the factors which
were to be resolved.
The next step to be taken is
to secure the approval of the
families who donated the funds
to construct the colleges. Be-
cause of restrictions incorpo-
poratecl in the original grants,
the only three colleges where
co-ed housing would be possi-
ble are Will Rice, Baker, and
Hanszen. Will Rice has been
removed from consideration be-
cause it was felt that its physi-
cal plant was not readily adap-
table to co-ed housing.
Negotiations are currently
under way with the Baker and
Hanszen families to secure
their approval of the proposal.
If the legal details can be
resolved, the next move will be
to poll the students who would
be involved to determine
whether or not they are still
in favor of co-ed housing, be-
ing cognizant of the procedures
for implementation.
Some hope is being held out
that co-ed housing could exist
on the Rice campus as early as
next fall, but informed sources
seem to feel that the spring
semester of '73 is the earliest
realistic date.
the
thresS®
volume 59, number 25
:iurs cici v
1972
Sen. Joe Christie makes his pitch
by RICK BOST
Speaking before a crowd of
Rice politicos last Wednesday
in Sewall 309, Sen. Joe Christie
delineated his campaign plat-
form.
Emphasing his successful
use of expert staff in producing
his legislative r^pord,-' Sen.
Christie said, "The present 27
committees should be reduced
to 10 or 11 and the resultant
savings used to finance com-
petent legislative research."
This would eliminate the neces-
sity of senators serving on 10
or more committees and the de-
pendence on friends with con-
flicts of interest who constitute
most staffs. "My staff research
shows we can hire more and
better staff and still save the
state money." Despite the pol-
itical advantage of virtually ev-
ery senator being able to dis-
play a chairmanship to his
home constituency, Christie be-
lieves that with a senator serv- '
ing on only 3, at most 4 com-
mittees, better legislation can
be enacted.
On what some consider the
student issues, Christie has
these views: pot laws should be
changed to a misdemeanor (but
he's not ready to support Pres.
Nixon's "Pot" Commission pro-
posals), an 18-year-old should
be given full rights and respon-
sibilities as given the 21-year-
old, and "full-time, voting stu-
dent members" should be named
to state college boards of re-
gents.
Recognized as a conservation-
ist (a Sierra Club member), he
helped to create three state
wilderness parks and wror<>
legislation to protect endan-
gered species. In response to a
question, he discussed the lead
poisoning suit El Paso has
brought against ASARCO and
ASARCO's "efforts" to handle
its emissions.
Christie has also worked in
the field of consumer protec-
tion (noteworthy, his bill to
regulate business and trade
(Continued on Page 3)
Players offer lively performance of Jonson's 'Alchemist'
by JOHN IGLESIAS
In spite of Ben Jonson's sometimes
tortuous dialogue and an otherwise
static plot, director Sandy Havens and
the Rice Players have successfully
"translated" The Alchemist, by virtue
of their own unique alchemical recipe,
into a lively and sometimes farcical
comedy of disguise. Although Jonson
'more commonly referred to his own
works as "humor" plays, this production
works especially well when dealing with
the whole notion of role-playing as it
was best practiced on the Elizabethan
stage. This is not to suggest that such
"humour" characters as Dapper, Drug-
ger, Sir Epicure Mammon, and Ananias
are unimportant or not well played.
Cash Tilton as Dapper, the native young-
clerk, and Charles Tanner as Epicure
Mammon, the lusty fop who pretends
to covet the famed Philosopher's Stone
for "pious uses", turn in particularly
fine performances. But the stage clear-
ly belongs to Face and Subtle and,
secondarily, to their whore-accomplice,
Dol Common.
To play the role of confidence man,
trickster, captain, and servant to both
Lovewit and the bogus alchemist takes
an actor who is a combination of Pro-
teus and Hercules; and Donald Bavne
in his wonderful creation of Face,
meets that almost impossible task. As
quick-change artist, Donald's best and
funniest disguise is that of Lungs, the
alchemist's weird laboratory assistant.
A bizarre mixture of Beulah the Witch
and Dr. Strangelove informs this char-
acter as Face limps about the stage in
search of a good neurosurgeon.
Perfectly complementing Face's un-
canny and yet devious role-playing is
Subtle's antics as rogue, quack and
pious old man. In the title role Rod
Rich plays all of his parts equally well,
subtly changing his attitudes, posturing,
intonation, and gestures with each new
customer he gleefully gulls. But when
it comes to portraying the "holy and
religious man," the creator of the Phi-
losopher's Stone which will magically
transmute base metal into gold, no one
plays a hypocritical old man better than
Rod. The encounters with Sir Epicure
are particularly hilarious, especially the
gcene in which the laboratory blows up
and Rod goes into a fainting spell which
can only be termed the "Rod Rich
swoon."
Becky Bonar as Dol Common, the
piecemaker, gets into the spirit of the
play as play when she gives a fine per-
formance as the pretended noble woman,
"a most rare scholar, . . . gone mad
with studying Broughton's works." Al-
though given over to studying mathe-
matics and distillation, she is at once
whore and noblewoman. The scene "be-
tween her and Sir Epicure is one of
the finest in the production. Her por-
trayal of the Queen of Faery as an
Elizabethan Mae West is funny but too
incongruous. The intention to change
appearance as well as character is es-
sential to the part, but the role of the
Faery Queen is in itself alteration
enough for Dol Common's purposes.
Lines such as "Give me the bird," and
"come and see me often" delivered with
the West verve will, however, undoubt-
edly get big laughs.
If in The Alchemist Jonson presents
metamorphic servants and eccentric
humour characters, he also creates Sur-
ly, a figure who in his counter-disguise
seeks to expose Face and Subtle's sham-
ming. He is the one character in the
play who refuses to be gulled, and his
antagonistic attitude toward role-play-
ing is essential for an understanding of
Jonson's satire. For if Face and Subtle
act as satiric masks through which Jon-
son attacks man's folly and gullibility.
Surly must offer a different conception
of role-playing,which in turn undercuts
Face and Subtle's hypocrisy. 1 realize
that such an interpretation of Jonson's
double-edged satire is extremely liter-
ary, but I feel that this reading can
be transferred to the stage where a
strong and biting performance by Surly
would be most effective. Although Con-
nolly Snead as Surly certainly looks the
part, dark-suited and dark-complected,
he is simply not Surly enough. In lieu
of a satiric Surly, director Havens un-
derstandably plays up the farcical ele-
ments of the play which see role- play-
ing as a sheer lark and not the knavery
Jonson intended it to be.
All in all, the production of The Al-
chemist, with its magnificent costumes
(so necessary for the metaphor of dis-
guise) and practical albeit somewhat
barren set is great testimony to this
reviewer's belief that the Rice players
cam perform non-Shakespearean classi-
cal drama with the style and comprehen-
sion we are accustomed to in their more
modern presentations.
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Freed, DeBow. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 59, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 13, 1972, newspaper, April 13, 1972; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245132/m1/1/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.