The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 30, Ed. 1 Friday, April 5, 1991 Page: 2 of 20
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2 FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 1991 THE RICE THRESHER
Students deserve priority
at lectures, graduation
Secretaiy of State James Baker is coming to campus this
May to deliver this year's commencement speech. Fantastic.
As someone who is, in many ways, the right-hand man to the
President of the United States, Baker is more than a publicity
garnering figure; he is an experienced "mover and shaker." His
recent involvement with the Persian Gulf conflict and his trip to
meet with Saddam Hussein should prove to be very intense
material for his speech. His appearance will be especially
timely in view of these events.
The fact that Baker is a descendant of the Captain James
Baker, who saved Rice University, also makes the choice
singularly appropriate. Based on his personal background and
his position in the Federal Government, Baker's speech is
certain to be involving.
But therein lies a problem. Such a speech is sure to draw one
hell of a lot of attention and one hell of a lot of people. The
commencement ceremonies will have an attraction for the
student body, the faculty, the families of those graduating, and
that part of Houston known as the "Neighboring Rice Commu-
nity- "
Take a look at the Rice quadrangle the next time you are
frisbee-golfing through or meeting someone at Willy's statue.
It's pretty big, but not that big. Consider how many people will
be coming to the Rice commencement—the graduating stu-
dents in the graduate and undergraduate programs, their
families, the faculty, and those students who are still around
after finals. Every year they fill the quadrangle.
Now, add the crowd that will be drawn by Secretary Baker's
arrival. Double the number of students who stay for the cer-
emony. Expect several hundred extra guests from around
Houston. What will be done with all of these people? Some
people won't be able to get into the quad. Who will be in the
unfortunate batch to be kicked out?
Well, if history serves, the "community" will get preference
to stay over the non-graduating students and, some fear, many
students' families.
The RMC filled quickly for the two Presidential Lectures
during the past month, at the expense of many Rice students.
Lines wrapped around the RMC as people tried to get in, with
no preference given to Rice students. Speakers like Jane Goodall
or the Dalai Lama are incredible coups for Rice, but when the
students cannot hear these speeches, the RMC becomes more
of a self-glorifying movie theater than a place to supplement
classroom education.
So, if students or the graduating seniors' parents are kept
from the quadrangle this May 4, it will not be any great surprise.
How can this be justified? Graduation is an important cer-
emony—it is why everyone at Rice is working so hard; the
students are trying to graduate, and the faculty is trying to help
them on their way. The event, including Baker's speech, should
be available for all students to see, if they desire, and for the
students' families, as well. There is no legitimate reason for
parents to miss their child's graduation if they are willing to
trek to Houston and sit in the morning heat for the ceremony.
Ann Zitterkopf, Harlan Howe
Editors-in-Chief
Chad Carson
Managing Editor
NEWS
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FEATURES
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OPINION
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SPORTS
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The Rice Thresher, the official student newspaper at Rice University since
1916, is published each Friday during the school year, except during exami-
nation periods and holidays, by the students of Rice University. Editorial and
business offices are located on the second floor of the Ley Student Center,
P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas, 77251. Advertising information available
upon request. Mail subscription rate per semester $15.00 domestic, $30
international via first class mail. Unsigned editorials represent the majority
opinion of the Thresher Editors. All other pieces represent the opinion of the
author. Obviously.
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Let's put the BEER back into Beer-Bike
To the editors:
During the mostrecent Beer-Bike
race run on March 23,1991, a beau-
tiful thing happened. It was not
Hanszen's dual victory in both the
men's and women's races, nor was it
the fact that neither Jones nor Will
Rice won either race. The true glory
of the day belonged to Sid Richardson
College.
Sid Richardson may very well have
been the only college present that
really appreciated the true spirit of
Beer-Bike. For those unaware, every
member of the Sid men's bike team
interrupted their "racing" on the
backstretch of the second lap, upon
PC about
responsibility,
not politics
To the editors:
To add yet another voice to the
inclusive language/women's stud-
ies/politically correct/religion de-
partment debate:
I take issue with the term "politi-
cally correct" as an adequate de-
scription of current academic inter-
ests or as a label for the use of
"nonoffensive" language. Given the
way we view the pojjitical sphere, the
term "politically correct" implies that
an issue is ephemeral. It sounds as if
one is only catering to a world-view
that is politically ascendant rather
than responding to an issue which
may have solid intellectual or ethical
grounding.
I prefer to use the term "intellec-
tually responsible" to denote schol-
arship which takes both current and
traditional areas of interest into ac-
count; and I think that the term "so-
cially responsible" is a better de-
scription of language which is cho-
sen with a view to how it affects oth-
ers. I think that this is what propo-
nents of these views are really after
a shift in focus from one's rights as an
individual to one's responsibilities as
an individual among others. The
question asked here is not, "Do I
have a right to speak any way I want
to?" but "Do I have a responsibility to
speak in a particular way?" Or, to
involve both the academic and social
levels of this debate: "Who do I have
a responsibility to include?"
Jeannie Stahl
■ Religious studies
graduate student
which they attempted to rapidly con-
sume an unknown liquid contained
in a 12-ounce A&W Root Beer can.
This is an act for which they were
necessarily, but unfortunately, dis-
qualified.
If you have ever spoken with
family or friends from other univer-
sities about Beer-Bike, they have
probably remarked that it is one of
the coolest things that they have ever
heard of. When you explain that,
usually, ten people drink "beer" which
has often been watered down or
flattened and warmed up, while ten
otherwell-conditioned, well-practiced
individuals ride two or three laps
around a track, their enthusiasm
usually fades. Five seconds of chug-
ging. Two minutes of riding. Over
and over again.
When the Beer-Bike race first
«
began in 1957, it was a competition
between two colleges, run on the
inner loop, with the victorious college
receiving a keg of beer from the loser.
At the time, those who rode bikes
were the same people who chugged
the beer. The Beer-Bike race of today
is nothing more than an inter-college
bike race where ten inconsequential
people chugbetween riders. In order
to change beer-BIKE back into BEER-
bike, the following changes are pro-
posed:
1) Require that all participants,
male and female, alumni and stu-
dents, chug BEER. Underage drink-
ing would not be a problem, due to
the many high quality non-alcoholic
beers available on the market today.
2) The BEER should come from
a can, opened no earlier than one
hour before the race, or from a keg,
in which case the BEER may be
placed in a cooler no earlier than one
hour before the race. BEER could
still be consumed from the current
chugging devices used, or from two
twelve oz. cans if male chuggers
prefer.
3) Require that all participants in
the race chug the BEER, run to the
pit area, board a bicycle, and ride two
laps for women and three for men.
Enough of these athletic, well-con-
ditioned types gliding smoothly on
bicycles and behemoths able to inhale
their own weightin BEER. LetBEER-
bike require a special sort of athlete,
one with equal levels of conditioning
and consumption. Granted this will
require changes in the procedure in
the pit area, but it would be far more
exciting and well worth the change.
Beer-Bike has been a long stand-
ing tradition at Rice University and
one that the students hold near and
dear to their hearts as an event which
helps distinguish them from other
universities. If it is so desired, an
inter-college bike race can still be
held. BEER-bike, however, has be-
come far too serious, and must return
to its original purpose; to have fun,
and to look at ourselves in a less than
serious light
We sincerely believe that these
changes are highly desirable and
implore the students of Rice Univer-
sity to support any efforts to imple-
ment them. If successful, we can
change BEER-bike back into some-
thing that other universities will envy.
Todd B. Ballengee
1991 Beer-Bike Coordinator
Keith Jaasma
Outgoing RPC President
WRC Chug Captain
GSA Pres salutes Sid
To the editors:
On behalf of the GSA Men's Beer-Bike team and the graduate
student body as a whole, I would like to express our admiration and
respect for the actionsofthe Sid Rich Men's Beer-Bike team.The Beer-
Bike celebration, although still an important part of the Rice tradition,
has evolved away from its original infaent The early Beer-Bike races, as
the legend is passed to us, seem more a tongue-in-cheek social event
than an athletic competition. In recent years, it has often been the sole
place of the GSA Alumni team to breathe some air of levity into the
event *
The Sid Rich team, by deviating from the normal format in a way
guaranteed to lose the race, has shown an admirable example of the
Rice spirit The whole idea behind traditions like the Beer-Bike race is
non-conformity and originality, but even an original and creative idea
can grow stale if practiced the same way for too long. Maybe Sid is
right Maybe it is time to change the rules again...
DirkValk
GSA President Pro Tem
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Zitterkopf, Ann & Howe, Harlan. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 30, Ed. 1 Friday, April 5, 1991, newspaper, April 5, 1991; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245782/m1/2/: accessed May 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.