The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 31, Ed. 1 Friday, April 12, 1991 Page: 1 of 16
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Kice Inresher
VOLUME 78, NO. 31
OWL NIGHT LONG
APRIL 12,1991
Affirmative action directors announced
by Neil Robinson
President George Rupp recently
appointed Paula Cox, special assistant
in graduate studies, research and in-
formation systems, and Deborah
Nelson, chair of the French studies
department, as co-directors of the
affirmative action office, replacing
former director Eva Lee, who served
for 16 years. The president appoints
the position annually at which time
new directors may be announced or
current directors confirmed.
Lee, who is now on sabbatical,
chose to end her stint as director this
year.
Cox and Nelson work in conjunc-
tion with the Affirmative Action
Committee to "see that the laws and
regulations that govern affirmative
action and equal employment oppor-
tunity are complied with [at Rice],"
according to Cox.
Cox explained that the job re-
sponsibilities include having an affir-
mative action plan, implementing it,
and monitoring it Any complaints of
discrimination that come into the
office are handled on an individual
basis.
The office handles all sexual dis-
crimination and sexual harassment
cases, as well as racial discrimination
complaints.
Cox said that she and Nelson,
who both received the appointment
on March 1, are "still getting our feet
wet." The new directors want to get a
feel for the conditions on campus to
make a diagnosis of the situation be-
fore actually devising an affirmative
action plan. Cox said she expects to
see the picture come into clearer
focus over the summer, at which time
she and Nelson can begin formulat-
ing the plan.
To assess the situation, Cox said
that she and Nelson "look at the
composition of the work force" to
find areas of under-representation. If
such a situation exists, they look first
to the recruitment process. The
process strives to ensure that adver-
tising of available positions reaches
the under-represented minorities,
and that all ethnic and gender groups
are aware of the available positions at
Rice.
Cox and Nelson will also look at
terminations, promotions, transfers,
and compensation to get a feel for the
position of various minority groups
on campus.
By guaging the complaints that
come into the office. Cox said that
she and Nelson can identify any
problem area, whether it be with a
specific minority group or in an indi-
vidual department While the major
responsibility of the positions is to
revise and maintain the affirmative
action policy on campus, "[we] would
like to take a more pro-active, pre-
ventative approach," Cox said.
She explained that because of the
turnover in staff and faculty, every
few years the affirmative action of-
fice should verify that those people
making employment decisions con-
cerning staff and faculty are aware of
the responsibilities under the affir-
mative action/equal opportunity
program.
Regarding the dual appointment,
Cox said that the communication
between her and Nelson was strong.
Because they both perform the duties
of their office on a part-time basis,
Cox acknowledged that communi-
cation is vital.
Nelson also said that the two are
an effective team. Cox's experience
as affirmative action officer at the
University of South Carolina and
knowledge of the legislative and ad-
ministrative requirements mesh well
with Nelson's feel for the campus
and the people that work here, she
explained.
Nelson said, "I can't do it without
her [Cox], because I don't know the
legislation," but she added that her
knowledge of the faculty and how
best to approach its members makes
the pair effective.
Although both will continue
working in their individual fields at
the same time they carry out their
duties in the Affirmative Action Office,
Nelson said that that "won't be a
problem once our routine is estab-
lished."
French chair Deborah Nelson and special assistant Paula Cox share the task of
developing and implementing an affirmative action plan for Rice.
SA decries lecture seating
Resolution seeks advanced student tickets
by Amy Keener
Sid selects Wittenberg as new master
by Erica Oilman
President Rupp announced last
Monday that school of architecture
professor Gordon Wittenberg has
been selected as the next master of
Sid Richardson College.
"[My wife] Susan and I are both
excited about the mastership and are
really looking forward to it," sad
couple for where we felt Sid was
headed in the next five years."
The Wittenbergs have high hopes
about working with the college sys-
tem. They want the students of Sid to
continue running the college, but
intend to help and augment the sys-
tem. Especially intriguing to them,
they said, is Sid's uniqueness, not
only as a building, but as a college of
a bit of a different reputation. How-
opportunity where the existing repu-
tation no longer applies," commented
Wittenberg. "There is now space to
define a new and distinct image for
Sid."
Bell noted that the committee was
particularly interested in a strong fe-
male leadership presence. "In the
past, Sid was notorious for its male-
dominated views, which led to a cer-
tain amount of conflict after the col-
lege went co-ed five years ago. We
think that Ms. Wittenberg will be an
ideal role model."
Baker master Robert Dunbar,
chair of the masters' search commit-
tee, explained that the college mas-
ter is appointed by Rupp; who takes
in information from Ronald
Stebbings, Vice President of Student
Affairs. In turn, Stebbings accepts
SEE RESOLUTION, PAGE 5
The SA voted in favor of a pro-
posed resolution Monday, April 8,
requesting an advanced ticket distri-
bution system for students for ad-
mission to lectures. The resolution
came following difficulties encoun-
tered by students attempting to attend
recent lectures which also drew large
numbers of people from the general
community.
"The entire senate agrees with
the proposed student seating," said
Mitra Miller, SA president "That was
unanimous," she added, in reference
to the voting members of the SA
Despite unanimity of opinion, the
SA resolution did not pass with a
unanimous vote.
The actual wording of the reso-
lution was the only source of dis-
agreement," Miller explained.
[Complete text of the resolution is
printed on page 7.]
Debate over the wording focused
on the inclusion of thephrase "tuition-
paying" and on one sentence which
included a reference to pre-paid
meals, according to Patrick Good,
SA secretary.
Lovett president Eric Home and
Erik Leidal, SA external vice presi-
dent, phrased the resolution.
"There was a certain bite to the
way the one sentence was written,"
said Home, one of the vocal support-
ers of the resolution. "But the intent
was not antagonistic," he added.
The resolution proposed a change
in the admission system for the
President's Lecture Series to allow
30 percent of the seating to be re-
served for students. The proposal
called for an advanced student ticket
distribution system, possibly admin-
istered through the Office of Student
Activities, that would allow students
to ac<?uire tickets until one day prior
to the lecture, at which time tickets
would be turned over to the general
public.
Sarah Nelson Crawford, director
of Student Activites, commented that
the request seemed reasonable.
"I hope the SA will work with my
office to make a system of distribu-
tion," she said. "I would be happy to
be helpful. The details can be worked
out later, whether through my office
or with Marty Vest," she added.
Marty Vest, director of the Stu-
dent Center and in charge of seating
at the lectures, declined to comment
on the resolution.
According to Miller, an official
copy of the resolution will be sent to
President Rupp by the end of this
week.
Book co-op looking for permanent spot
S
| by Jonathan Briggs
Susan and Gordon Wittenberg will move into Sid Richardson house next year.
Wittenberg. "We think the job will be
especially interesting because the
expectations of the students are very
high. The college is infused with en-
ergy, which we found very attrac-
tive."
"Two thumbs up!" said freshman
Sunil Kripalani, member of the stu-
dent search committee. "The
Wittenbergs have a lot of wonderful
ideas. They have already shown a lot
of enthusiasm and are ready to be-
co me actively involved. They cheered
for Sid at Beer Bike even before the
masters' final decision was made!"
Senior Angus Bell, chair of the
student committee agrees, "We really
like the £actthat they were very family-
oriented and work well as a team.
The students on the committee felt
that, at this time, they were the best
ever, the Wittenbergs and the stu-
dents agree that this image is per-
haps not relevant anymore since it is
due to a few isolated incidents and
the population of the college has
changed drastically in the last five
years since they have gone co-ed.
"This does present a marvelous
Q
J The Student Association Book Co-
i op will once again resume collection
° of used books from students at the
end of this semester in order to help
students "beat the bookstore" at the
beginning of next year.
"We'll be collecting books from
April 25 to May 2 in the individual
colleges during lunch," said Jon
Shields, Sid Richardson College SA
Senator and chair of the SA Book
Store Committee. They will tljen be
Welcome to Rice...
The Student Admission Council, the Admission Office, and Rice
University would like to welcome the Owls to OWL DAT 1901! We hope
that you enjoy your stay here at Rice and that your experiences here will
lead you to the decision that Rice is the university for you.
We've planned some great activities, and hopefully you'll leave here
with a taste of what Rice life is realty like. When you have some time to
reflect on the classes you attended, the parties you went to, and the
friends you made, you'll realize that Rice is a unique place with something
to offer everybody.. .especially you.
stored over the summer and put on
sale for next year." Books will also be
collected in the SA office on the sec-
ond floor of the RMC from April 30 to
May 2, noon to 2 p.m.
Storing the books is a twist to this
semester's Co-op that the organizers
felt was necessary to best serve the
students while preserving the quality
of their merchandise. The problem
of an operational facility has also be-
come a concern for the new orga-
nizers.
Shields hopes to find a more per-
manent home for the Co-op next se-
mester so that it will be more acces-
sible to a greater number of students.
He said, "Next year the Co-op will be
more organized, mostly because of a
more permanent location than the
SA office to facilitate a greater num-
ber of patrons."
Inspiration from the success of
last semester's Co-op has given the
organizers an optimistic outlook for
the Co-op's continued success.
This year's Co-op worked be-
cause a lot of people got a lot of books
at a lower price than they could have
gotten in the bookstore," Shields said.
"We actually turned over about $6,000
as a service to the students."
"We're hoping that it's going to be
even bigger for next semester. We
want people to turn in their books so
the Co-op will work well," said Merritt
McReynolds, SA Executive Vice-
President t
In addition to targeting students
SEE CO-OP, PAGE 5
NEWS
New O-Week rules:
college cheers are
out and so is ma-
triculation—outside,
that is—unless it
rains...
See page 5
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Zitterkopf, Ann & Howe, Harlan. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 31, Ed. 1 Friday, April 12, 1991, newspaper, April 12, 1991; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245783/m1/1/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.