The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, February 18, 2000 Page: 1 of 28
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the Rice Thresher
Vol. LXXXVII, Issue No. 17
SINCE 1916
Friday, February 18, 2000
F&H adds options, finalizes meal plan proposal
by Lisa Gillum
I II RIvSHFR STAFF
Meal plans for all on-campus students next
semester will include options of 19,15 or 11 all-
you-can-eat meals a week, Food and Housing
Director Mark Ditman announced Wednes-
day.
After F&H considered meal plan options
for two weeks, Ditman sent the finalized meal
plan to the college presidents and food repre-
sentatives early this week.
The options will include provisions for
"Tefijfl Points," another name for the previ-
ously proposed "Owl Bucks."Tetra Points are
funds that can be spent using an II) card at
Willy's Pub, the Coffeehouse, Sammy's, the
Campus Store, college dining areas and the
proposed Subway and convenience store ad-
ditions to the Student Center. Guest meals,
which range from $5.50 to $8.50, must be paid
for in Tetra Points.
According to an F& H report describing the
new plan, the name for the debit account
comes from an ancient Greek coin, the
tetradrachma, which featured the Athenian
owl on one side. Tetra Points may be pur-
chased in increments of $50 and will roll for-
ward each semester until the student gradu-
ates but are not refundable.
"The change [from previous meal plan pro-
posals] is due to student contributions,"
Ditman said. He said he heard from students
thai they wanted to pay only for what they
consume. "This [plan] gives people a sense of
participation," Ditman said.
"The three meal plans cost $1,450 (Plan 19
Plus), $1,390 (Plan 15 Plus) and $1,295 (Plan
11). Costs are per semester. 'I"he "Plus" plans
include $50 of Tetra Points, and Plan 11 in-
cludes the option of opening a Tetra Points
account.
Plan 19 Plus is required for first-year
See STUDENTS, Pag<- t.
Firefighter memorial to
be held at stadium today
Main, University to be closed in the morning
by Leslie Liu
THRKSHfcR f.l)IT<>RIAI.STAlT
A memorial service for two Hous-
ton Fire Department officers who
lost their lives in the line of duty will
be held at Rice Stadium today.
Before the service, a procession
will follow Main Street, from the
Mecom Fountain to University Bou-
levard. City officials will close roads
and use limited stadium parking for
the ceremony.
Anticipated road closures as-of
press time are:
■ Main Street — between Binz
Street and University Boulevard
from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.
■ University Boulevard — between
Main and Greenbriar Drive from
6 to 10 a.m.
■ Montrose Boulevard — between
Bissonnet Street and Main from
7 to 10 a.m.
Campus Police Chief Bill Taylor
said HFD officers are being told to
park in the West Stadium Ix>t, be-
cause they will be coming to the
campus as early as 6 a,m. to prepare
See POLICE, Page 5
Conference focuses on
environmental concerns
■ ' . • ■ : . . ..
%' ■
'She's got a ticket, I think she's gonna use it
Cars in the Main Street Lot were ticketed en masse by Rice police Wednesday night. The message on the
ticket? A coupon for 10 percent off purchases at the Rice Campus Store. Campus Police distributed about
6,000 coupons as a joint project of the Campus Store and the poTtce department in order to cheer students up,
said Police Chief Bill Taylor.
by Olivia Allison and Ben Johnson
THRFSHKRSTAFF
Students, business leaders, offi-
cials and citizens discussed the fu-
ture of transportation and voiced
environmental concerns at the
eighth annual Rice Environmental
Conference Saturday, entitled
"Planes, Trains and Automobiles:
The Future of Transportation."
Organized by Environmental
Club students, the first conference
was planned by then-Rice student
David Greene in 1992 as a way for
Rice students to present their re-
searah and voice their opinions about
environmental issues.
"The Rice Environmental Con-
ference is now in its eighth year, and
it has really come a long way since
its beginning," conference co-direc-
tor Alesha Herrera, a Brown Col-
lege senior, said. "Each year, the
conference is bigger and better. This
year we really have a more diverse
audience due to the nature of the
topics to be covered."
Following the opening remarks
in the Grand Hall of the Rice Memo-
rial Center, a panel of city planners,
environmental leaders and transpor-
tation experts explored the history
behind Houston's transportation
problems, the role of market forces
and other topics in a discussion
called "Urban^ Planning and Smart
Growth."
Later they fielded questions on
the inaccessibility of high occupancy
vehicle lanes, the explosive physical
See PANELISTS, Page 4
SA presidential candidates present platforms
by Tom Belanger
THRKSHF.R STAFF
The four candidates for Student
Association president debated Sun-
day night in preparation for the SA
General Elections.
General elections begin today.
Vote online at http://sa.rice.edu/
elections. See Blurbs, Pages B1-B4.
About 40 students came to
Farnsworth Pavilion to hear the
views of Wiess College sophomore
Lindsay Botsford, Lovett College
sophomore James Dallal, Hanszen
College sophomore Merritt
McAlister and Hanszen sophomore
Gavin Parks.
Moderators Jett McAlister and
MarielTam, llireshereditors in chief,
and KTRU Station Manager Meg
Smith gave each candidate two min-
utes to make an opening statement.
Merritt McAlister, the current SA
external vice president, explained
during her statement that since her
freshman year she has been trying
to build the Rice she wants to see by-
involving herself in the SA Senate
and helping to set up a support group
for "non-heterosexual women."
* A '
, £• * \
McAlister said she wants to con-
tinue her work by becoming SA presi-
dent and finding new avenues for
making Rice a better place.
McAlister said she would plan to
focus next year on establishing a
review committee in the Counseling
Center and requiring all senators to
attend their college cabinet meet-
ings and report back to the SA.
Botsford, the Wiess SA senator
and former SA freshman represen-
tative, said she has lovt-d Rice from
the moment she arrived.
Because of this, Botsford said
she wanted to become involved in
See CANDIDATES, Page 7
INSIDE
Fondren Library closed
tomorrow
Fondren Library will be closed to-
morrow for the celebration of the 50th
anniversary of the Friends of Fondren
! ibrarv. The library will close at 10 p.m.
tonight and will re-open at noon Sun-
day.
OPINION
Versity.com blues
Page 3
LIFESTYLES Page 11
lj>ve and the information superhighway
'Don'tfence me in...'
LIZZIE TAiSHOFF/THRESHeR
A fence that went up Monday surrounds the future construction site of a new utility tunnel that will run between Wiess and Hanszen Colleges
— but currently impedes students,,trying to get from one side to another. Pedestrians will have to take the long way around until construction
is finished in June.
A&E Page 12
A 'New Brain'"and an old 'Vagina'
SPORTS Page 19
Baseball strikes out ... again
Today
Scattered showers, 75 55 degrees
Tomorrow
Mostly cloudy, 64-56 degrees
Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 67-57 degrees
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McAlister, Jett & Tam, Mariel. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, February 18, 2000, newspaper, February 18, 2000; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246668/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.