The Rice Thresher, Vol. 99, No. 10, Ed. 1 Friday, October 21, 2011 Page: 8 of 20
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trends.reflections.human interest.
8
What's Their Secret? *±
by Jennifer Shen
Thresher Staff
Devika Subramanian grew up in
a college campus neighborhood
in Rourkela, a relatively small
steel town in the eastern part of India
with a population of around 1 million.
She said that she has always been very
interested in science and math, and her
family, friends and teachers were all
very encouraging with her interest.
Her class, COMP140: Computational
Thinking, has proven to be very
popular, with the number of students
growing from around 20 to 113 over four
years. Subramanian said she is proud
that COMP 140 has helped to bring the
number of computer science majors
from around 12 to 75, and she is even
more proud that more than 21 of those
are women.
So what's her secret?
At the age of 16, Subramanian
got into a very competitive university
in India, the Indian Institute of
Technology Kharagpur. She said the
structure of the school was very much
like Rice University, with a comparable
residential college system with
affiliated faculty — similar to masters
and associates at Rice.
"Perhaps the best years of my
life were my undergraduate years,"
Subramanian said. "We had a very
close connection with our teachers,
[which is also] one of the things I like
about Rice."
Even though Subramanian really
enjoyed the challenging curriculum
and excellent peers she had at IIT,
she felt intimidated at first because of
her young age and gender, since there
were only two female engineers in her
class of 300.
However, Subramanian recalls
a turning point when she managed
to score at the top of her class on the
final exam in one of the toughest first-
semester engineering classes every
engineering freshman had to take.
"That was the first time I realized
I may have a future as an engineer,"
Subramanian said.
Subramanian said her professor
even invited her to talk to him since
she was the first student to ever ace
the exam.
COURTESY RICE.EDU
"And [the professor] said, 'I can't
believe a woman did this... and I'll make
you an honorary man,"' Subramanian
said. "I told him, 'I don't want to be an
honorary man. I'm a woman, and you
better accept it.'"
Subramanian said it that's when
she really began to think about the
gender barrier in engineering.
"Maybe because I have experienced
a world where there were so few [women
engineers] ... I see the effect that
women can have on [the engineering
community]," Subramanian said. "I
think women can change the culture of
the system ... for the better because we
think differently, so we can [bring in]
a different perspective, which is why I
agonize over how ... I can make it easier
for the women who come after me."
Despite these challenges,
Subramanian said that for the
most part, everyone at IIT was very
encouraging, and she felt that her
peers' recognition of her ability as an
engineer helped her integrate into the
community. In addition, Subramanian
said that the unparalleled learning
environment had a significant impact.
"It trained me to leam... to approach
a new thing without any fear, and I
think that's what a good engineering
education should be," Subramanian
said. "Nothing is unleamable. If you're
willing to learn, it can be taught to you."
This learning philosophy
also extends to Subramanian's
teaching. Subramanian said that she
challenges her students in COMP 140
with concepts that many people in
the department thought may be too
hard for an introductory course, but
students continue to amaze her and
exceed her expectations.
Subramanian said she wants
COMP 140 to be a way for anybody to
understand what computer science
is. She said that computational
thinking, which is the ability to take
a large problem and break it down
into pieces, is crucial to living in a
world that is getting more and more
quantitative.
Subramanian said her decision to
become a professor was influenced
by her listening to her father, a
mechanical engineering professor,
teach as a child.
"I know I was fascinated by the
world of the classroom," she said. "And
I've always found that when I explain
something to someone, I'll leam it better."
What brought her to the U.S.,
Subramanian said, were the
opportunities it offered to women
engineers that India lacked at that time.
"The academic environment [in
the U.S.] was willing to recognize my
ability," Subramanian said. "I [wanted
to] go to a country where it's what you
can do, not who you are, that matters."
"What's Their Secret?" is a weekly
feature that highlights a faculty
member who has had a significant
impact on Rice students.
Dear Athena and Ares,
I like this guy a lot and we're always talking and laughing, and sometimes our
eyes will lock for about five seconds. Does he like me? The problem is, his ex girt
friend Is one of my best friends. Should I ask i m out or will my friend be mad?
Sincerely,
Undecided
Dear Undecided,
First of all, everyone can be
mature in this situation. If you're
already hanging out with your
friend's ex, then their break-up
probably wasn't that bad. Everyone
has to move on sometime; it is only
healthy to learn from your past
relationships, take that knowledge,
and move on with your life.
That being said, people sometimes
act irrationally in situations like this,
so the most important thing is open
communication. You won't ever know
if the situation will upset your friend
if you don't talk to her. And you might
never know whether this guy likes
you if you don't talk to him. If he does
like you, trying a relationship could
very well be worth it, although you
should definitely move slowly.
You have to weigh the pros and
cons: are you willing to risk your
friendship for a guy? If you decide
you are willing to take that risk, be
very open with your friend. Explain
why you like this guy, and tell her
that her friendship means a lot to
you. Friends are meant to support
you and usually just want you to be
happy, so give her some time.
In the end, she'll probably come
to terms with her past and learn
to be supportive of your romantic
relationship. If you're smart about
handling the situation, you might
not have to choose between this
guy and your friend.
— Athena
You know the guy wants you, and
if you go for him you know your
friend will be mad. That is not the
issue here. The issue is the age-old
doctrine of "chicks before dicks"
(known as "bros before hoes" for
males) that stipulates you hold
your friends over your romantic
interests. Breaking this rule outright
will bring you much agony, so you
need to develop enough plausible
deniability to protect you from any
accusations. Luckily you can use the
idea of male primo acio (Latin for
first action). While some may think
the idea of the boy making the first
move is outdated and sexist, let's
not forget that women can't pee
standing up. Isn't it time gender
differences worked in your favor?
Therefore, place hints to the guy
that you are interested in him. Since
he is a Rice guy, be extremely simple
and direct like 'I am hungry, ask me
to dinner.' When you go on your
date, you can tell your friend you just
said yes to be polite. Next comes the
most beautiful part of the plan. On
the second date, your friend might
accuse you again of taking her man.
Now simply refer to precedent,
and say that she was fine with the
first date and that she is being a
bad friend by not communicating
her wants and being passive-
aggressive. Accept her apology
with the knowledge you have won.
— Ares
"Dear Athena and Ares" is an advice column written twice a month,
authored anonymously by two Thresher Staff members. Readers can
email their letters to AskTheThresher@gmail.com or submit their
questions through formspring at AskTheThresher.
lkUi[a:it)ilKTuI7
US: Not Your Little Brother's Skateboard
by brittney xu
Thresher Staff
So you're slogging to class, late as usual, and the shuttle has already pulled away from the
curb just ahead. If only you had a faster form of transportation than your legs — one that
doesn't need to be padlocked. Out of the corner of your eye, you see a blur of movement
as a student goes zooming past on a skateboard. He is just one of the increasing number of
students at Rice University who use unconventional boards to get around campus.
Skateboards have been around since the 1950s, when California surfers decided to conquer
the streets. The first skateboards were boxes or planks with wheels attached and usually were
not very safe. Over the years, different types of boards have emerged. At Rice, unusual types
of skateboards can be found, each with its fans and distinct qualities.
\. * - T J
Jason Li
Baker sophomore Jason Li rides
the sole skate, which is triangular and
has two wheels in front and one wheel
in back, like an over-sized bike seat.
Online at Toys "R" Us, a sole skate is
priced at $30-$40.
"I think I'm one of the only ones on
campus who has it because it's new,"
Li said.
Asked why he did not buy a regular
skateboard, Li said he chose the sole
skate based on cost, portability and
ease of use.
"I think it's easier to ride than a
RipStick [for example]," Li said. "That
requires a lot of balancing."
The RipStik is another form of
"skateboard," one that requires back
-and-forth oscillation of the feet to
propel it forward, much like riding a
snowboard. The platforms for the feet
are connected by a metal beam, and
no contact with the ground is required
to push off.
RipStik owner and Hanszen
sophomore Zephan Chen argues that
they are not as difficult to ride as
people think.
"It's like riding a bike," he said.
"There's just a steeper learning curve."
Chen was attracted to the RipStik
because he wanted to challenge
himself with a more difficult board,
and it did not cost as much as a bike
did. It can be found on Amazon for
$40 to $60.
Hanszen sophomore Edward Tian
prefers the longboard over the other
types of skateboards.
"[The longboard is] meant for
transportation," he said. "It has larger
wheels, more flexibility and it's a
smoother ride."
Longboards, as the name suggests,
have a longer wheelbase than normal
skateboards and are the most prevalent
form of skateboard on campus. They
are fully customizable, and tend to be
more expensive.
"Mine cost $200," Tian said, "but
I customized it with nicer bearings,
softer wheels and more flexibility." He
pointed out that longboards can be
bought for less. "You can get one for
less to use at Rice that's perfectly fine.
I got mine customized b^ause I plan
on keeping it for a long time."
Even with a growing skateboard
culture. Rice has no safety regulations
for skateboard riders like it does for
bicycle owners. For instance, there is
a bike awareness week and a webpage
dedicated to bike safety on campus,
but no mention of skateboards or other
types of self-propelled transportation.
"Cars definitely don't move out of
the way for me as much as they do for
bikes," Chen said.
Still, Li thinks that Rice is
friendly toward boarding and that
people readily move out of the path
of boarders.
"They hear you coming," Li said.
"The wheels are loud on the sidewalk."
Chen is accustomed to the strange
stares when he rides his RipStik, as he
mesmerizes passers-by with the quick
back-and-forth alternation of his feet.
"People stare at me all the time,"
Chen said, laughing. "They look down
at my feet, up at me, then back down."
Li agrees that students often
marvel at his unconventional
skateboard. Even as he rides away
after the interview, balancing on his
small sole-skate, Brown freshman
Vikram Murali watches him leave with
amazement.
"I've never seen that [kind of
skateboard] before," Murali said.
However. Murali is still not
interested in buying a skateboard.
"I think my bike is more practical
because I have to go all over the
place, Murali said. "But if I was just
going to class, I would consider it."
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Rutenberg, Josh. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 99, No. 10, Ed. 1 Friday, October 21, 2011, newspaper, October 21, 2011; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth398427/m1/8/: accessed June 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.