The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 79, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, January 31, 1992 Page: 1 of 16
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Rice Thresher
VOLUME 79, NO. 18
SUICIDALLY STUPID
JANUARY 31/ 1992
Tuition increases; self-help cap rises
by Wendy Paul
The SA tuition committee has
confirmed that Rice tuition and room
and board fees will receive another
increase for the 1992-93 school year.
The committee has also announced a
change in the financial aid policy that
will raise the financial aid cap for
entering students.
Students returning for the 1992-
1993 school year will see room and
board rise from $4900 to $5200 and
tuition from $7700 to $8500 for a total
of $13,700, an increase of $1100. This
figure does not include an estimated
additional $100 in fees.
Tuition, room, and board are bud-
geted to account for approximately
20 percent of Rice University expen-
ditures. Consequently, when operat-
ing costs increase, tuition, room, and
board costs rise. Operating expenses
include instructional and depart-
mental research, operation and
maintenance of plants, and scholar-
ships and fellowships.
SA President Mitra Miller cited a
$1 million rise in water costs after
Rice was forced to change to city
surface water from pumping its own
underground water, rises in Houston
Lighting and Power rates and cost of
living rises in salaries as a few sources
of rising expenditures.
An increase in the number of stu-
dents entering Rice with Rice-spon-
sored financial aid has also prompted
changes. Rice provides a merit- based
scholarship to all National Merit
Scholarship finalists entering Rice.
So many finalists chose to accept the
Rice scholarship last year that ftiture
scholarships will shrink in amount
offered.
According to tuition committee
chair Erik Leidal, students will begin
to see "a trend toward fewer merit-
based scholarships in that they will
come from restricted scholarships
[scholarships whose recipients have
been previously designated by the
donor] and to more need-based
scholarships from the unrestricted
base [those scholarships which have
not been specifically designated]."
As many students discovered this
past summer, beginning with the
1991-1992 school year, family mem-
bers enrolled in post-graduate edu-
cation or parents in under- or post-
graduate studies are no longer eli-
gible to qualify as dependents. Ac-
cording to Leidal, "We're basically
the last university in the nation to
More hints for tickets
make this change."
Beginning with next year's enter-
ing freshmen, the financial aid cap
will be rased from its current level of
$1950 to $2250. For an entering stu-
dent with a total need of $5000, for
example, the first $2250 will come
from self-help aid, namely loans and
work study. The remaining $2750
will be provided from grants. Current
students are under a grandfather
clause which will maintain the cap at
$1950.
Leidal said, "We should expect
this to be a gradual trend over the
next twenty years." Despite the
changes in financial aid policy, how-
ever, the percentage of aid in the
budget continues to experience a far
greater increase than anything else
in the budget
TheStudent Association and other
concerned students have welcomed
the agreement of the administration
to maintain open communication
about tuition spending and increases.
In keeping with the new emphasis on
communication, the administration
will meet in October with members
of the Student Association, college
representatives, and Thresher staff to
discuss a predetermined set of ques-
tions regarding tuition.
Clues for Week II
1. Found: Teratology v. 15-16
2. One would find this ornament in a
garden.
3. Logically speaking, of course.
4. Found: A Women's Thesaurus.
5. Found: Death in Midsummer.
6. Furniture, that is.
7. Found: Wayside Fruits.
8. Wittgensteins problem with the
philosophie of scienpe.
9. This book does not have a call
Todd Ballengee and Keith Jaasma show their racing form. See page 7.
Council considers calendar changes
by Jonathan Briggs
The University Council is consid-
ering several proposals to change
the academic calendar beginning
with the 1994-5 school year and has
asked for suggestions from several
groups across campus, including the
Faculty Council, Graduate Student
Association, and Student Association.
"The way it stands now is that
various constituencies are being
polled, such as the the SA, the GSA,
and the Faculty Council," said Ronald
Stebbings,vice-presidentforStudent
Affairs. "When the recommendations
come back, as secretary of the Uni-
versity Council, I will sift through
them and convey these through the
University Council."
The University Council, which is
composed of faculty and staff mem-
bers as well as student representa-
tives, reviews the academic calendar
and its proposed changes each year,
said Jones senior Dan Raybear.
Ray bear and Will Rice senior Rachel
Levitt serve as undergraduate repre-
sentatives to the committee.
" Every few years people say, Why
don't we change the calendar?" It's
one of those issues that comes up
year after year, like the pass-fail is-
sue," he said.
Raybear said many changes are
brought up repeatedly, including
deleting a week from both semesters
because of Rice's long 15-week se-
mesters, deleting spring recess, and
returning later from winter break.
Raybear said the University Council
periodically makes changes like de-
creasing the number of class days in
the spring semester.
"A few yean ago the spring se-
mester started on Thursday to make
it the same number of days as there
are in the fall, but they decided to do
away with those two days. Since then,
spring semester has been shorter/
he said.
Three possible options were pre-
sented at last week's SA meeting.
The SA voted Monday to suggest a
change in the 1994-5 calendar year.
• Preserve the two week winter break,
mid-term recess, and spring recess,
'and retain the present system, simi-
lar to the 1989-90 calendar year.
• Lengthen winter break, delaying
spring break and graduation by one
SEE CALENDAR, PAGE 9
Fire code to affect SRC Tower Party
number.
10. Accidents will happen.
11. Someone you might hire to locate
a new dean.
12. Not Jack Nicholson.
13. Rhymes with "Grounds for Mur-
der."
14. What a student would commit
Tickets are available at Anderson
Building office for $20 until 5 p.m. on
Feb. 13. For more information, call
527-4864.
by Kristen Copeland
The push for compliance with fire
safety codes by the newly created
Rice Office of Environmental Health
and Safety [OEHS] will affect Sid
Richardson'sTower Party this week-
end. Maximum occupancy during the
party has been limited to 1250 per-
sons, and 101 security officials will
be required.
To helpcomplywith the maximum
occupancy requirement, SRC social
coordinators have moved the party's
starting time to 9 p.m., one hour
earlier than last year. The party will
still last until 2 a.m.
Social coordinator Heidi Huettner
said the starting time was moved up
in order to spread attendance over
more hours and therefore decrease
occupancy at any one time. "We're
trying to encourage people to come
early, instead of parties like NOD
where everyone arrives in a mass at
midnight," she said.
People will probably not be turned
away as a result of the occupancy
restriction, according to Huettner.
"We may sell out of tickets before-
hand, but realistically speaking we
do not expect over 1200 people," she
said.
Huettner said attracting enough
volunteers to meet the security offi-
cial requirement has been a chal-
lenge. "We've had to pull together a
massive college effort to cut through
all this red tape from the alcohol
policy and the fire codes, but we do
not expect any violations," she said.
Junior Angie Dunmire, a former
SRC social coordinator, said thatonly
about 25 security officials worked
last year's Tower Party.
This year, one security official will
be in each elevator at all times, in
order to prevent overcrowding. A
security official will be stationed at
each of the exits to prevent use except
in case of a fire. Another official will
count all the partygoers.
Tickets bought with a Rice I.D.
will be $3 until 9:30 p.m. the night of
the party and $4 after that Tickets
purchased without a Rice L D. will be
$8 at all times. The high cost for non-
Rice students is intended to discour-
age their attendance, as they are re-
puted to have caused more damage
at past parties than any other group.
Similar changes will have to be
made in all large parties such as the
Casino Party and NOD, according to
Sarah Nelson Crawford, director of
Student Affairs.
Crawford said she felt a more re-
strictive policy, such as Dartmouth's,
which prohibits parties in any stair-
way or hallway, would not be neces-
sary. "I think we need to be aware of
how lucky we are and have been in
the past, and I think people just need
to use their common sense. I think
the students here are responsible
and will think ahead of time what
danger there may be in certain cir-
cumstances," she commented.
The OEHS was created in May,
1991 to verify that all Rice University
functions and buildings abide by
safety laws and regulations. Other-
changes mandated by OEHS include
the construction of a new stairwell on
the west side of the Physics bu ilding.
the posting of occupancy limits in all
college commons, the construction
of fire doors in the SRC commons,
and the integration of a sprinkler
SEE FIRE CODE, PAGE 9
FEATURE
Rice forensics
members think...
On
Their
Feet
See page 6
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Zitterkopf, Ann & Howe, Harlan. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 79, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, January 31, 1992, newspaper, January 31, 1992; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245803/m1/1/: accessed May 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.