I tried to go to the baseball game, but that failed.

I was looking forward to a fun Rice baseball game this Friday, but the rain took care of making sure that didn’t happen…I feel like my socks have been wet all week…

On other topics, the NEW SA officers have been officially announced: Sanjula is the SA President-Elect, and the other executive officers are Yoonjin, Gabrien, Hersh, and Michael – congratulations to all! Changeover is on March 19, so I still have a couple weeks left in power… Any suggestions for crazy things I should do with my last days in office? 🙂

Best picture/meme ever –>

I had a great conversation with Rick Greenspan, the Athletic Director, this past Monday. He was really receptive to hearing the student perspective and finding ways to get students more involved in athletic games. We shared a couple of ideas, and I thought the 3 biggest ways to get students out to the games include:

1) College outreach – getting VSLs to make announcements at the college, posters, flyers, etc.
2) Student-Athlete interaction: have athletes be involved more at the college cabinets, college lunches, or other events to help build a relationship at the personal level
3) Student Incentives: offer food, shirts, and tailgates at the big games to make it “the thing to do” to go out to games. We need to bring back the Rice Spirit…! And per Mr. Greenspan’s suggestion, we need to create some new TRADITIONS. Get on that.

Also, I met with Nicole, the Director of the CCD, and we had a great conversation about how the CCD can connect with students more, developing the alumni connection with students, and how to get students visiting the CCD at an earlier point during their 4 years at Rice. We’re looking to continue this conversation to help the CCD hear student input, and a way you can help is by taking surveys, letting me know your comments, and sharing your concerns directly with the CCD.

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PARKING!

I knew I would get your attention with that.

Well, since I’ve heard multiple concerns about parking, I really wanted to see what we can do to make things better… So, first off, the administration and RUPD really see the problem we have with parking on campus and needing more space. The Parking Committee meets monthly to discuss the upcoming plans for additional parking. There are three major concerns I see with parking at Rice: 1) we don’t have enough space, 2) people don’t get notified when they get tickets, and 3) people don’t like getting tickets.

I can’t really help with the third point. Sorry…

However, I met with the Parking Department and Capt. Rodriguez from RUPD to talk about the other 2 points. First, the Parking Committee is working to consider new spaces around campus, but it may be a few more years before we get a big new addition, like a parking garage.

Second, I have heard major complaints from people that get multiple tickets in a row without ever receiving a notification, and then their car gets towed. After 3 tickets, your car is towed and there is a hefty fine to pay, along with all of your tickets. Since some people forget their cars in faculty lots occasionally, this can happen without ever getting a warning and the chance to move your car. Many universities have automatic parking violation notifications sent by email, but the Rice system is a bit outdated and does not have that capability. Therefore, it wouldn’t be realistic to manually email everyone who gets a violation, but we came to the agreement that people who get 2 tickets in a row will receive an email by 5 pm that day. How does that sound?

Also, the Parking Department will look into the cost of upgrading their system and consider the cost/benefits of this upgrade. Send them your comments if you think it’s important!

Other fun news: Dean Hutch and I had a basketball shooting competition at halftime Saturday – he won, 3 vs. 2. At least I made a couple of shots… And Hutch was TOTALLY lying when he said that he hadn’t picked up a basketball since college…he was probably practicing all day before 🙂

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President Bush for another 4 years

SA Presidential Debates were fantastic Monday night! All of the candidates did a great job of describing their platform, providing examples of how they would tackle tough issues, and talking about their experience. And, of course, telling us how they would face off with President Leebron in a cage match – important information.

Sanjula Jain, Benjamin Chou, and Ben Hawriluk have great ideas, and I hope they all stay involved, no matter what. And Jonathan Stewart and Kevin Bush sure hit it out of the park with that one…

A few memorable quotes: (paraphrased)

How would you increase student involvement in athletics? Free Saint Arnold’s at every athletics game.

Free puppies for everyone? OMG yes.

What’s the problem we need to address with increased enrollment on campus? Put money into the AC system — these parties are becoming ridiculously hot, with sweaty bodies everywhere, more people, sticky freshmen…yuck…(shiver)…fix that darn AC.

What would you do better than the current SA President?  AWKWARD MOMENT. I’M SITTING IN THE FRONT ROW. THEY ARE STARING AT ME.

– Jonathan Stewart talking about his experience: I’ve worked with former President Patrick – he was a driven guy, always on the go and pushing for something; I’ve worked with former President Selim – he was pretty laid back, easy to talk to; I’ve worked with Georgia this year – and wow, she’s a PARTY ANIMAL!

And the crowd roars 🙂

Go VOTE!

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I had dinner with President Leebron’s mom. True story.

Dean Hutch has a new blog! And a facebook page!! Woot!

Other fun news:
– There is a new meal plan for off-campus students, brought by discussions with GSA, SA, and H&D. Options include 25 and 50 meals/semester, in addition to the current 85. Check it out here.
– Dean Hutch is a new grandfather. We celebrated with cake yesterday 🙂
–  LPAP discussion at Senate on Monday…should we reduce LPAP requirements? Allow varsity athletes to be exempt from LPAPs? Ask for more resources to have more classes and instructors? All of the above? Tell us what you think: http://sa.rice.edu/comment/
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Athletics Discussion

In case you missed the Athletics Forum last week, President Leebron and Rick Greenspan had an interesting talk and discussion about the future of athletics at Rice and the new proposed $44 million football facility. See the video: www.riceowls.com/allaccess/?media=291218.  And for students, minute 50-52 is when there are some interesting points.

Also, who is excited about the O’Yeah Cafe?!? They just opened today for lunch at the RMC in the Owl Cove (the old space occupied by Coffeehouse). They serve “traditional and Americanized” Chinese dishes ($5-7) – try them out 11 am – 2 pm. Let me know what you think!

Also, a couple fun meetings the past couple of days:

– Faculty Senate finally passed a new syllabus standards policy that the SA proposed last year – now all professors will be required to have a syllabus on the first day of class with basic requirements! Finally!

– President Informational session this week for all candidates considering running for presidents – great turn out! Dean Hutch and Master Rob Griffin shared their thoughts. Rob’s main points: 1) motivation (why do you do this?), 2) leave a legacy, and 3) create a vision. Great advice.

– Tonight: great discussion with Senators, Dean Hutch, and Mr. Tenney (the Registrar) about Waitlisting. We are trying to resolve some of the issues that came up during this spring registration, and I think the new system will really help us by showing the demand for classes and persuading departments to open up new sections. Senators are preparing to form a Working Group to provide more feedback to Mr. Tenney.

– Yesterday: best day of my Senior year. Found out I got into both Stanford and MIT grad programs in one day. Feels good 🙂

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Marathon + Cupcakes

Yes, another week gone by. And the beautiful sunshine of Friday puts a smile on your face. Ah, Houston in January – how lovely.

I recovered this week from the Houston Marathon this past Sunday – finally stopped feeling sore on Wednesday. And some people asked: did you actually run ALL 26.2 miles? Answer: yes, that’s how a marathon usually works. 

Amid marathon recovery, I had a lot of fun at the IM Lighting Ceremony this Thursday (in case you missed it, there were 1000 cupcakes!). See the video and pictures.

A Rice athletics forum was hosted by President Leebron this week – see the story here. What are your thoughts about this? Money, money, money….

Interested in collecting Rice things? Well, if you haven’t noticed, there are new banners up around the inner loop! And that means that the old banners were taken down. If you want something to decorate your room, contact the Office of Public Affairs or email greg.marshall@rice.edu.

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Starting up the new year

Welcome back to Rice! This semester is going to go by fast, so let’s make the most of it.

In case you were wondering what I did over the winter break, I traveled to Greece with my parents and visited family for 2 weeks. The trip was fabulous, filled with good food, and completely unproductive. My most memorable moments were 1) New Year’s Eve with cousins – staying out until 6 am, and 2) staying at my grandmother’s house with no central heating when it was 32 degrees outside – using a wood burning furnace is quite an adventure!

First Senate meeting of 2012 was this Monday, and our discussion topic was Waitlisting. A lot of you had great comments about ways to improve the process, so there will be a Working Group formed on addressing those issues with the Registrar. Contact Nick (Jones Senator) at njr2@rice.edu if you’re interested.

A few fun things happening this week:
– Wednesday (today!): IM Field Lighting Ceremony at 7 pm (behind Rec Center) – there will be 1,000 cupcakes to celebrate the event! Come join!
– Thursday:

  • Spring Involvement Fair (12-4 pm, RMC) – come by the SA booth to buy a new shirt!
  • Student Center Open House (12-4pm) – Prizes, samples, freebies
  • Athletic Forum with President Leebron and Rick Greenspan – talking about the future of Rice athletics and the new football facility (6:30 pm, Stude Concert Hall)
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End of Semester

Finals are almost over…and campus is getting quieter with more people leaving for home. I hope your finals are going well – I just finished my last one today!

A few interesting things from the past few days:

Monday: Senior Holiday Reception at President Leebron’s house – quite the crowd! Great event for seniors, and underclassmen should definitely be looking forward to this classy event.

Tuesday: Met with Mr. Tenney, the Registrar. We talked about waitlisting, the student concerns, and what are ways we can address certain issues. I definitely learned that most concerns are already worked out, and the main problem is people not having clear information, well in advance. I’ll send out some more info with details soon.

Wednesday: Exciting news from Rice Information Technology – we are very close to finalizing a deal with Google for undergraduates! More info will come out in the spring, so that everyone can discuss it together.

Thursday: STEAM TUNNEL TOUR – sooo much fun! Special “Presidents” tour – I even got to ride on a golf cart (that was actually my first time doing so!).

Friday: Met with IM Sports staff – trying to work out the details for a college cycling IM sport in the spring!

This weekend: WORK WORK WORK 🙂

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Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a FANTASTIC Thanksgiving break! I had a great time with family back in College Station, TX, and even though I was determined to check email and do homework, that didn’t exactly happen….

On other news, a few exciting things are coming up this week!

Monday – Masters and Presidents meeting this evening – planning to discuss the future of the alcohol probation. Should be a pretty intense discussion as we work to find the best solution for our next steps forward.

Monday evening – Student Senate Best Practices Meeting! 9 pm, Sewall 301 – for the first time ever, the SA is having “Best Practice Presentations” from the New Student Representatives on the following topics: College Courts, Associates Program, Intellectual Programming, RA Roles, OC Life, and College Interactions. It promises to be a great experience, and we hope everyone can join us to learn something new and take back to their college!

Wednesday – Faculty Senate are discussing (and voting on) the new proposal for a Writing and Communications Program. I have shown the Speaker of the Senate the resolution that the Student Senate passed supporting this proposal, so we hope to see some changes for the Fall of 2012.

Throughout the week: I’ll be visiting (almost) all of the colleges this week to give a “State of the Student Association” during your college government meetings, so please come join me and ask any questions you might have!

Also, if you have feedback regarding the new Waitlisting feature, please email me (sapres@) with your comments – we are trying to bring these to the Registrar to ensure that your concerns are addressed.

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Ever wonder where your money goes?

In case you are interested, here’s a list of the blanket tax monies you pay each year:

Thresher ($14.30)
KTRU ($6)
RTV5 ($4)
Campanile ($24)
RSVP ($2)
RPC ($18) + Beer bike
Student Senate ($2.45)
University Court ($1.25)
Honor Council ($1)
RESET ($9)
Interesting, right? Transparency is always the key…..
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My life is fun

Busy week…. Real life started catching up with me, as I had to start completing fellowship and graduate school applications (can’t forget that I actually need to do something after this year….). Last week, we had a GREAT meeting with President Leebron – good discussion about a variety of topics, and we emphasized to him the concern that students have about not enough resources on campus (not enough class sections, study space, meeting space, etc.)

Things that President Leebron and SA Execs discussed: collecting feedback for adjusting to number of courses offered, helping encourage departments to consider offering new minor (esp. economics and psychology), Academic Cup competition, attendance of campus lectures, athletics (he proposed: Game of the Week?), and late-night movies on campus.

Tuesday – International Week Presidents Lunch @ Cohen House – great chance to meet all the international club presidents; also, fantastic Student Debate at the Baker Institute! My highlight of the week 🙂

Wednesday – Rice Annual Fund reception with donors at the OEDK – got to show off prototypes of my senior design project…

Thursday/Friday/Saturday – Search Committee Interviews for RUPD Chief

Sunday – Mr. Rice!!! Very funny – sometimes a bit too funny

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Eric Cantor

Wow! Busy political week for Rice! House Majority Leader Eric Cantor came to Rice today.

I met with him during a roundtable discussion 9:30 – 10:30 am. There were about 30-40 people: professors, provost, president, congressmen, etc… Interesting (and civilized) discussion about university funding and how to partner with private sector more effectively.

Then, we went down for the Open Forum. Pretty interesting…. As President Leebron finished his welcoming remarks and Rep. Cantor stepped up to speak, a group of student protestors in the back rows stood up and starting chanting and shouting – yikes! It was about 15-20 students (mostly grad students), and they started with the occupy Wall Street “mic check.” Then, they proceeded to say “Eric Cantor is not welcome here,” along with a rant about his stance on abortion, women’s rights, gay rights, finances, etc. All of us in the audience sat staring at them, dumbstruck and feeling quite awkward. Meanwhile, President Leebron was reprimanding them loudly in the microphone and ordering that they get out. So much fun.

Finally, after 3 or 4 minutes, the policewoman managed to escort them out of the room, and Eric Cantor started speaking (“You gotta say, only in America”).

Good questions from students in the crowd afterwards.

At the end, I spoke to Rep. Cantor briefly – tried to say a little bit about being grateful for his visit and emphasizing student interest in open discussions.

At the least, this will be a story to remember….

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Condoleezza Rice is coming!

Condoleezza Rice is speaking today at Tudor! I hope everyone can make it – I’m excited to listen to her speak.

On other notes, here are a few interesting things:
Thursday: met with the University Council (Pres. Leebron, faculty, staff, students, admins: ~15 ppl) – talked about enrollment (1,000 new students this year, trying for 935 next year) and finances (markets are doing better, returns have been positive – on track for endowment recovery); We (the students) brought up the concern for study room and meeting space on campus – what can admins do about this?
Friday: Houston Marathon involvement: met with sports management professor to establish plan for possibly hosting a “hoopla” station at Rice to show off our spirit to Houston!
– Saturday: went Salsa dancing (so much fun!)
Monday: blanket tax review discussion (with advisors and students), and Senate meeting: talked about Baker 13 (how can colleges be more responsible in cleaning up afterwards?), Willy’s Pub (having financial difficulties, need support from students), and writing program discussion next time.
Tuesday: hang out with Condoleezza Rice!

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Feedback for Late-Night Security

I’d like your thoughts on something we’ve been discussing… It seems like there is a legitimate concern about the security on campus, especially late at night and during/after parties. A few ideas we have been discussing with presidents may include having more active Caregivers, such as the “Karma Patrol” launched by Will Rice, as well as people with whom you can walk back to your college.

Another idea is to (maybe) have a shuttle bus that runs late at night during some of the large college parties. What do you think of this idea?

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Happy Halloween!!

Don’t forget to dress up today!!

On another note, for your enjoyment:

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It’s been a while….

I haven’t written a post in a while! Sorry, things have gotten a bit busy!

A few major topics in discussion right now:

– Alcohol Probation: next steps, moving towards individual responsibility and really having college courts take up the enforcement of community standards. Just heard about the “Karma Patrol” program at WRC/Wiess – what do you think? https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=126471687459940

– Language program: what do you think of Rice’s language courses? Should class hours be increased? It seems like our language program may not be as rigorous as other schools, so this is a new consideration. Share your thoughts: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WGC58XR.

– Athletics! We are working with the Student Athletes Advisory Committee (SAAC), and they have some great ideas for getting students and student athletes more involved at the college and together. Perhaps an athlete talent show in the spring…?!?

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Topics from Senate Meeting

  • It’s Families Weekend! www.rice.edu/famweek for more information. Lectures, The Amazing Rice, more!
  • Homecoming King & Queen Nominations are being accepted until Saturday night. RiceElections@gmail.com
  • SA T-Shirt Competition designs should be submitted on the SA website by the next meeting!
  • The Class Ring will hopefully have college crests on them. BUY YOUR RINGS. GET EXCITED. It’ll be awesome.
  • Newspaper preferences were discussed and roughly determined by the senate.
  • SAVE PUB!! Their financial situation is grave. Encourage people to go to pub for meals and stuff! Host more events at pub!
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Reflections

So, I’ve been thinking long and hard about what makes Rice special. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly. You can talk about the college system, the sense of community, the low student-to-faculty ratio, etc. But people can find counter arguments – does that really make Rice a better school? Does that really help people grow? Don’t they just seclude themselves in their own college and forget about university spirit, the Houston community, and coming out to campus events? They just party and drink at their colleges, they get sucked into college programming, they don’t get outside the hedges to learn how to live on their own.

This may sound quite harsh, but I have heard all of this. I’ve heard it from many different people, mostly from those outside the college communities, but also from within. It’s come from students, faculty, associates, and people outside of Rice. It might also be a lingering thought in President Leebron’s mind. Now, to be clear, this has come from a small group. Mostly from those outside the college system or outside the hedges whom have not experienced Rice. But I’ve heard it, and it started softly ringing a bell inside my head, a small alarm, making me think: what really makes Rice special? Why is our college system so good? Why do we rave about this system that supposedly develops a community but on the other hand seems to leave us unprepared for the “real world” or without the harsh experience of reality? Why does it seem like there are gaps, cracks, crevices that are slowly growing, or have never really been healed from the beginning of Rice’s inception of the college systems?

And the thought lingered on my mind. For weeks now, I’ve listened. I want to know the answer. I didn’t think I could answer it myself – it had to come to me, present itself, so that I would know it was true. I wanted Rice to prove itself to me, to prove that it IS the best university that has a community culture unlike none other.

And then today, I found it. I was sitting at the lunch table, and I suddenly realized, with a smile on my face, that I have nothing to worry about. The soft ringing bell in my head had turned off, gone silent, left in its place a reverberating silence that was as sweet as the morning dew. So beautiful, relaxing, calming. It all came from a conversation I had with a fellow peer after lunch. I was being my busy self, trying to cram lunch after a meeting ran late, while checking my email in the commons. And a fellow peer came up to me and asked if she could join me. Of course! We began talking, with all my previous concerns brushed aside.  She talked to me, asked me questions about her future, her life, her goals, her dreams. And I talked about my own experience, my own life, and I gave advice about what paths she could follow to find happiness at Rice. I’m sure it wasn’t the perfect advice, and I probably missed a lot of important points. But I realized, as I chatted happily away, this is what I love to do at Rice, this is what we all love to do – share our ideas, thoughts, advice, and dreams with our fellow peers.

We are the happiest students in the nation. Some people may have said that this ranking was arbitrarily decided, but I think it’s true. We are the happiest not because of academics, music events, or the community service we do. It’s because on top of all of that, we care about each other. We care about an entire community, an entire college of 300 students, that we feel a connection with and build a relationship with. I care about my Lovetteers. I love to help them, talk to them, give advice, get advice, and have fun together. I grow with them, I learn with them. I cry, I laugh. And I learn about myself in a way I never could have alone.

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New Writing Program

We had the first meeting yesterday with students and faculty to talk about the new writing and communications program. This is one very important initiative, both from faculty and students, to develop a new writing/comm program. Finally! We can make something happen!

It was really disheartening to see the appendix with all of our peer institutions – every single one (out of 13 schools) had a well-established writing center and had 2-3 communication classes that were a part of everyone’s curriculum. And Rice doesn’t have any of that!!! Now, we are trying to gather feedback on how to make this program unique to Rice and really outstanding. Let me know if you have any thoughts on specific classes we should offer, skills that students should know, or ways to incorporate this with the colleges or Fellows program.

Other fun facts from the past few days:
– I found out I am giving a Senior Toast (?!) next week. Yay? I’ll try to make it funny…
– Concerts are SO EXPENSIVE. We have $1 million from ALFA funds, but it’s not even close to being enough!! Lady Gaga costs $250,000 per concert. Wow.
– Dean Hutch plays the guitar and sings. I say we need a Concert with HUtch and Guitar [CHUG].

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RechargeU Student Hours

Guess what? This week is RechargeU Student Hours Week!!! That means that the hours have been decided by students, and they are testing them out this week. Go and support to show them that you want the store to stay open later!
Hours:
Monday-Thursday 8am-10pm
Friday: 8am-8pm
Saturday: 10am-10pm
Sunday: 12pm-3pm
Join the Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=242516615799542

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