The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 40, Ed. 1 Friday, April 19, 1985 Page: 4 of 16
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THRESHING IT OUT
continued frorft page 2
just my objection to the inadequate
publicity given to the constitu-
tional referendum.
While my ire has obviously
flared because of the way in which
the Senate tried to pull the acrylic
over the students' eyes, 1 do have
substantial problems with text of
the document, objections which 1
raised in the Constitution
Committee but which were re-
buffed because I was trying to be
too democratic and populist.
1. The castration of student
referendum: under the present
Constitution, student initiative can
be brought by only five percent of
the undergraduate population: the
new one requires a petition of 10
percent. This is a blatant move to
silence disgruntled minorities that
threaten the sovereignty of the
Senate, considering that
customarily only 40-45 percent of
the undergraduates vote in
referenda.
2. Needless interference of the
Executive Committee: it seems
ridiculous for the Senate to send
the Secretary as a watchdog over
an Elections Committee
composed of members from all of
the eight colleges who have so far
chosen capable leaders from their
numbers; Beer-Bike has gone off
smoothly with non-RPC types as
the head of that committee, and
the Council doesn't want its
Secretary overseeing that activity.
3. Self-preservation on the part
of the Senate: psychologists have
seen botched suicide attempts as
the inability of people to do away
with themselves; and so it is that
the Senate refused to consider
establishing a clause in the
Constitution requiring the SA
Senate to fold if it failed a student
vote of confidence. I would be
personally be hesitant to start such
a move against our University-
wide government; however, given
the events at UT a few years ago, I
feel that the student body should
have the opportunity to dispose of
its administative appendix if it
becomes nothing more that a
haven for unfulfilled politicos,
resumd-padders, and bozos who
like making the Senate a parody of
student government. If the
students of Rice were to ever
become so disenchanted with their
leaders, it would be criminal to not
permit them to take such a drastic
step
4. Eor the sake of equality, let
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BLOOM COUNTY
us note how many times male
singular pronouns are used as a
default for the indefinite gender
(many) and how many times the
female singular pronouns are used
(zero). The first step towards
female-male equality, as I pointed
out to the Senate, is the
substitution of modest equivalents
for "he" and "his," such as "the
President" and "Presidential." Yet,
keeping with their phallocentric
mindset, the creators of the
constitutional commandments
(both male) convinced the Senate
to stay with obviously sexist
language.
Enough said by me, I bitch all of
the time. Now that a protest
against the election has been filed,
granting the students ample time
to give their input into the
constitution-writing process, 1
hope that the future student
governments of Rice University
will be able to hold more popular
support than those in the past, by
being more open to the students
about their inner machinations.
David M. Phillips
Wiess '85
Editor's reply: The danger of
changes being railroaded through
is precisely why a two-to-one
margin was required for the new
constitution to pass, instead of a
simple majority. The fact that four
out of five voters supported the
new constitution is reason enough
to accept it as an improvement
over the old document.
The majority of your criticisms
are based on misunderstandings
which should not be expected from
a former parliamentarian.
IJ Under the old consitution,
ihe signatures of five percent of
undergraduates could force a
referendum to overturn a senate
decision. That clause hasn 7 been
changed. Another clause in the
new constitution allows 10 percent
by Berke Breathed
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of the undergraduate population
to initiate legislation. The old
consitution contained only one
"populist" provision: referendum.
The new one provides for initiative
and recall as well.
2) The secretary already has
a substantial responsibility for
elect ions. The division of
responsibilty for scheduling
elections between the secretary and
the Election Committee chairman
has been inefficient and the source
of numerous problems.
J J Dissolving the senate is just a
special case of a constitutional
amendment. To abolish the senate,
without its ha\'ing to agree, simply
get 10 percent of the students to
sign a petition for a constitutional
amendment initiative. The
amendment could provide for
eliminating the senate and the 5/!
officers, abolishing some of their
duties and apportioning the
remainder among the RPC and a
few committees. This cannot be
done under the old constitution,
because there is no provision for
initiative.
4) If anyone cares, it can
propose a con s t it u i o nal
amendment.
Grad questions
Snyder's facts
To the editor:
1 have one question regarding
Scott Snyder's article onthis year's
beer-bike race: what is the origin of
the "official times"? Snvder states
on the second page: "Some of the
best times of the day were recorded
in the men's race by each team's
first riders." Then he states the
fastest times of the day were a pair
of2:02's from Lovett and Hansz.en.
I was not equipped with a
stopwatch, but from my vantage
point on the infield, it appeared
that Tom Egan, the GSA's first
rider was the last one out of the pit
area, not Lovett, and that he was at
least ten seconds behind the pack
during the three laps, and finished
his mile within drafting distance.
As the Thresher article lists five of
those first position riders (no
mention of the GSA) at 2:05 or
under, it stands to reason that Tom
must have ridden his mile in less
than two minutes.
Let me say that I think this year's
race was a great success, a lot of
fun, and that's most important. I
don't want to make a big fuss.
Perhaps someone with a better
vantage point can correct my
errors of perception. If not, I'd just
like to set the record straight.
Paul Pancella
"Eighth Man"
Graduate Student Association
Mr. Snyder replies:
/ erred in calling the times listed
in last Tuesday's article "official
times, "since the only official times
compiled by the RPC are total race
limes for each team, listed in the
(enter spread of today's Thresher.
Individual times which I listed in
Tuesday's article were the fastest
times as recorded by KTRU, the
only non-college organization to
compile such statistics.
BEYOND THE HEDGES
Texas may shut
down 2 schools
The Texas House Appropria-
tions Committee voted to close
Texas A&M University at
Galveston and the University of
Texas of the Permian Basin at
Odessa, reported the Texas A&M
(College Station) Battalion.
Houston Representative Paul
Colbert made the motions in order
to better reach a balanced budget.
Colbert, whose district includes
Rice, argued that the schools just
aren't needed.
"They've never been able to
maintain enrollment," Colbert
said. "They just can't attract
people out there," referring to the
UT-Permian Basin. About A&M-
Galveston's attempt to draw more
students, he said, "It's just flat out
not doing it, folks."
The colleges will not accept any
more new students and will be
closed in 1987. Colbert said that
the state should save $61 million by
closing the two schools.
The committee also voted to cut
S6 million a year from the Tuition
Equalization Grant Program
(TEG). The program helps
students who attend private
institutions with their tuition,
under the theory that those
colleges take some of the burden
off state universities.
Twenty-four percent of the
students in Texas private colleges
get the state tuition aid.
THE UNIVERSITYOF HOUSTON-UNIVERSITY
PARK LONDON STUDY PROGRAM
SUMMER SEMESTERS I & II
WHEN:
Summer I May 30-July 4
Summer II July 9-August 14
Students may enroll for both
summer sessions
COURSES:
English and Art
WHERE: London, England
CONTACT:
London Study Program
English Department
UH-UP Houston,TX 77004
Attn: Gillian Landreneau
(713) 749-3483/749-4726
REQUIREMENTS:
UH-UP students in good standing, transfer students from accredited
colleges and universities, sophomore, junior, and senior level.
PREREQUISITES:
The students must have completed his/her freshman English
reauirements and be working toward a degree. All majors with at least a
2.00 GPA are invited to apply.
COSTS:
ONE SUMMER SESSION
Tuition for six hours credit: 104.00"
Housing & Program Fee: 1,096 00
Application Fee: 50.00
Administration Fee: 100.00
Total 51,350.00
Students who sign up for both summer
sessions will pay a total of S? 250 00 Airfare is
not included Grouptravel $70.00piusS3 00
tax round trip 'Subiect to changes in UH-UP
tuition costs
The Rice Thresher, April 19, 1985, page 4
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Havlak, Paul. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 40, Ed. 1 Friday, April 19, 1985, newspaper, April 19, 1985; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245602/m1/4/: accessed May 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.