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THRESHING-IT-OUT 'Leaders' anger Hooper, food action takes 5 years To the editor: I was recently angered and confused by a letter written by several of our student leaders. This letter was printed on pages 4 and 5 of the January 21, 1983 edition of the Thresher. The stated purpose of this letter was to inform the Rice community that "the Department of Food and Housing uses practices which make student leaders their unwilling policy enforcers, and the colleges their unsuspecting operations financiers." I was just a little bit bothered to be informed that my college wasan unsuspecting operations financier, and even more horrified to find that my poor student leaders had been forced to be mere "policy enforcers." Somehow I had led myself to believe that I had helped to elect student leaders that had enough intestinal fortitude not to become, unwilling policy enforcers. I've heard something about unwilling policy enforcers before, but I think it was towards the end of World War II. In the very least, I would like a student leader that has nerve enough to admit to his peers that maybe he is in need of some help in dealing with administrators so barbaric that they would force my college to become an unsuspecting operations financier. Unsuspecting, sure I'm unsuspecting. I had no idea that "administrators routinely ignore students' legitimate requests." Why did I have to titeit until now to find out? Five years elapsed from the time a variable meal plan was initially proposed before a serious proposal was offered? What happened? Were the administrators too bull-headed to change, or just too stupid to see that a SHOOTIN' BLIND/ by Alan Eynon (Theme music) Contestant number one, what is your name, please? # Contestant 1: My name is Nuclear Freeze. Contestant number two, what is your name, please? Contestant 2: My name is Nuclear Freeze. Contestant number three, what is your name, please? Contestant 3: My name is Nuclear THIS IS THE STORY OF STUDENTS WHOSE COMPLE X , ENTANGLED LlVt'S REVOLVE AROUND LOVE, JEALOUSy, KEVENGE, AMD HIGH O P. A.'S THESE ARt . . . T, £©K« ROOM variable meal plan would benefit the student population? Somehow I think that it took five years for a serious variable meal plan proposal, not because of the administration's lameness, although this certainly played a part, but because it took five years to find a food committee with the determination to poll the students opinions and then to form the results into a serious specific recommendation for a variable meal plan. Next year we will be offered a variable meal plan. I don't know about you, but I've become weary with excuses from my student leaders. Even if I don't start seeing some action, I'd loveto stop hearing rationalizations. I'ma little bit bored with starry-eyed politicos fostering delusions of a grand new student leadership, who run away with their tails between their legs the first time an administrator says, "I'm sorry, but our budget won't allow it." I don't need a Utopia; all I wish is that someone would fix my leaky faucet. Rich Hooper lovett '85 Editor's note: Rich Hooper is chairman of the Food Committee, which distributed a variable meal plan preference poll in mid-November of 1982. Sadow raises stink over saga of shower, Samfield To the editor: With respect to myself, the history of maintenance at this University has been a sorry one indeed. In my first year on campus, the shower in my suite malfunctioned, reducing it from a shower into a trickle. We did not appreciate taking a trickle every morning, so we went to extraordinary means to maintain a Freeze. Thank you, gentlemen. Please be seated. Our panelists have a few questions for you. We'll begin tonight with Panelist A. Panelist A: Thank you. Number One, what do you mean by 'nuclear freeze*? I: We must freeze now! No more nukes! Make the world safe for state of acceptable cleanliness. Naturally, the request to repair the shower/trickle was made; naturally, the shower/trickle was not repaired for a lengthy period of time. Finally, after a repeated number of requests, the repairs were finally effected, nearly a month after the first request. Thankfully, the suite suffered no more breakdowns in the ensuing semesters. Over the Christmas break, my roommate returned to our room to make some improvements in it. As he entered the room, he noticed suddenly that the door had no lock on it; it had been removed. Amazingly, a repairman came to fix the lock after the first request. The story might have ended there, except that the repairman had done his job well. He had done it so well that the door was now impossible to open. This was not a minor problem, as I came to the sudden realization that I was paying $1,500 for a room into which I could not enter. All things shall pass, it is said, and so did this in the end, but not before four requests were made to re-repair it and a couple of phone calls from the college secretary to the Physical Plant to investigate this situation. In the meantime, we had to use the door of our suitemates' room, and hope that they were in. If not, then the secretary or the master would have to be bothered. Now the nightmare is repeating itself. Our shower became again a trickle. It was worked upon last on January 31, 13 days after the submission of the first request for repair, four days after the submission of a second. Time and tide wait for no men, eh? It is out of desperation that I write this letter. A couple of weeks ago the presidents of the eight residential colleges and of the peace A: Does that include the Russians? I: Of course! We all have to freeze so we can live! A: Number Two: same question. 2: Nope. We can blow 'em off the planet. It don't matter whether them Ruskies freeze or not! A: Then is it any good to fre'eze if His Roommate , HEvvey va- HEFT BIFF WELLINGTON/, kaaRDsek/, is a bR'lliant A RICH VREF-SCHOOLER FROM THF EAST COAST, SCANDINAVIAN ELECTRICAL WHOSE MAIN AWBUION IS ENGINEERING STUDENT TO GET /NTO HARVARD MED- WHOSE LIFE'S AMBITION IS ICAL SCHOOL/ IN SHoFJ , A TO DESIGN advanced VICIOUS, CALCULATING PRE-HEP MICROPA0CES5/NG SYSTEMS. PLEASE ET you. WHAT t>ir> you get on YOUft MCAT 7 HIS OTHER ROOMMATE, ARTHUR WE PICK OP THE STORY ONE DECKO, 15 AN ARTSy HUMAN- DAY AS BIFF'S GIRLFRIEND, ITIES MAJOR WHO CANT TERR I Butts , PAVs A DECIDE WHAT HE WANTS visit to the Room... To ftp [ wonder IF BIFF'S Ltfk HOME . HL'S I Wl HV GREATEST A77RIBOTC WOULD PftoRABLY BE yiY DECISIVE NESS s SUCH A DEAR 'S 1 HE'P MAKE A ; GREAT HUS- J IND-So J^fctT So KlI The Rice Thresher, February 4, 1983, page 4 MEANWHILE, HEWEY ALONE INSIDE... ^ihtv piautts cf WWJ Cr Gil"'* SPKE*J>IWCr 1MfclR LEG' NOT WtJWi l/NDS RWfAR on AWVTM t*)(r NEXT: DISCOVERY Student Association advocated such a means to illuminate the many problems of housing at this university. 1 offer my personal experiences to do iust that. One might recall the Lovett elevator, or lack-thereof, in the last semester. For over a month it did not function, or fuctioned only sporadically, causing inconveniences to almost everyone in the college, especially to one student whose room's location in the higher reaches of the college did not permit him to climb the stairs with his cast and crutches. A temporary room switch was arranged, and the procrastination continued. Finally, in frustration, a sizeable number of students sent a sizeable number of letters to the director. Some were requests for action, others were pleas for help, and still others were blatantly obscene remarks, insinuations, or otherwise unfit for family reading. Furthermore, a "sit-in" was planned a the director's office. However, this never took place, as the elevator then was repaired. Note carefully the sequence of events: The elevator is idled for a number of weeks, while little is done, and then after concentrated student protesting, it was repaired. Afterward, the college president received a letter, stating among other things, that he had shown, in effect, poor leadership in allowing those actions of protest to take place. It might have been poor leadership, but for poor leadership, it surely got the job done. As those students have protested, so now do I. Apparently, the Physical Plant director responds only in situations which otherwise might lead to total embarassment. Like a child, he is irresponsible. He must be told time and time again to do a job, and to do a job correctly. In we can stin blow each other U P ? 2: Of course! Makes 'em feel more secure so they don't gotta put no more them missiles in the ground. A: Number Three, do you agree? 3: Personally, I'd have to say that in my case, since I advocate freezing at reduced levels, these negotiations would have already taken place. The stage, then, is already set for a second round. A: Thank you, Number Three! Let me collect myself. There's just so many different ideas— (A gong sounds) I'm sorry, Panelist A, but your time is up. Panelist B, you may proceed. the interim, residents of the colleges must continuetosufferfor his procrastination and his inefficiency. In order to get action done to the Lovett elevator, the students had to lower themselves to his level; now, in order to cleanse myself of this effluvium, I reluctantly must do the same. I could, of course, avail mvself of calling the director of Food and Housing, which I have had done several times in the past in regards to my door, the shower, the elevator, ad nauseum, even though he has said that he "cannot answer" for the Physical Plant. The point here is, of course, that these repairs should be effected without there ever being a need to call the director of Food and Housing at all. Such, then, is the maintenance at Rice University. I only can echo the plea of our editor. Jones has unbearably hot water. Wiess has rats. Baker has a leaky basement. Lovett is too hot/too cold/too ugly, and it has a room in which its inhabitants can take only a trickle. I only can echo the plea of our presidents. If the administration desires a battle with the student body over this, then it may have one. After all, we shall be here for only a few years, so the problems can outlive us easily. The shower wil remain unfixed, and I shall stink still, although not as badly as the administration will in this matter. If it wishes, the administration can win this battle, if it is a battle at all, or should be. It would be a Pyrrhic victory, however, as along with no maintenance complaints there will be no students, either. Now, that stinks. Jonathan C. Sadow Lovett '84 Editor's note: Jonathan Sadow prefaced his see Threshing-it-out, page 5 2: Don't matter to me. All we gotta do is freeze. Them Ruskies'll know we mean business. They're good folk. B: But does a freeze make nuclear war less ljkejy, Number One? 1: No! But at least— (A gong sounds) I'm terribly sorry, guys! It's time for Panelist C to take charge. C: zzzzzzzz...nk! My turn? Uh, Number One, what about modernizing or re-deploying our existing forces? 1: Absolutely not! Freezes are like wage-price controls! We maintain forces at current equilibrium .! No changes! Cuts come later! B: Thanks. Number One, you C: Number Three? advocated a simultaneous freeze— 3: I tend to agree with- 1: That's right! 2: Well I don't! Them Ruskies B: — —How Ho< does this affect U.S. would get buried in a high-tech security? race! 1: Not in the least! We'll be just asi strong as ever, and so will the Russians! We could still blow up the world 16-odd times! B: Yes, but aren't current negotiations farther advanced? Wouldn't we have to start all over again. Number Two? C: So much disagreement! How will we ever decide what kind of a freeze— (The gong sounds three times) I'm sorry! We've got to wrap up the show. Will the real Nuclear Freeze please stand up?
THRESHING-IT-OUT continued from page 4 letter with a "poem" that he described as-suitable for the back page, although he preferred to submit to the letters section in view of his "desperate situation." While the Thresher empathizes with his frustration at the poor physical condition of his room, the "childish and immature" (Sadow's words) nature of the "poem" relegates it to the back page. Sadow's letter conveys his opinions well enough in prose not to need such a preface. References to the poem in the body of the letter were deleted by the editor. Retired Episcopalians rail at Mother of God, Jeanne ' To the editor Jeanne, Jeanne, Jeanne, you have truly taken charge of the Thresher. Mother of God, we have not seen any person in years with as much vigour and zeal as you have exhibited in your programme for reformation of our dear campus tabloid. And we are very glad you have been able to take our piece of "misclass" and use it in the establishment of your new journalistic "canon law" for the Thresher. Nevertheless, we are concerned that you have taken our letter which was placed in the Misclass Box (solely for consideration as such) and have used it in the grounding of your new policy for Threshing-It-Out. The letter which we submitted was Misclass — including the signature. It was never meant to be part of some supposedly meaningful discussion of ideas. It was and remains simply words to be read in Misclass, to give cause for an occasional laugh, and nothing more. Surely no one would read a letter in Misclass signed "Two Episcopalians, Retired" and regard it as the Truth. We originally composed a response to Mr. Anderson's confession that questioned his theology or rather the lack of it, but we realised that our questions and opinions of a serious nature would be best delivered in person and not relegated to the lines of Threshing-It-Out. However, we had in sheer jest written a comic piece of literary fluff and thought it appropriate for the Misclass. We anticipated no one taking it seriously, but alas and well-a-day! Ultimately, Jeanne, we question how important a name is to the editorial staff after reading the review of the Main Street Theatre's most recent production, a review by one Wiggy Martin. Were we simply to be confused by the aside "—Speak for yourself, Ray. Ed."? Is there a Wiggy Martin who wrote the review, or is the author's name Ray Isle? If we had signed our names as Fred Schiller-Jones '84 and Johnny Goethe-Wiess '86, would you have simply published it, or would you have investigated these names to discover their authenticity? We are glad our Misclass item was of service to you, Jeanne. We only wish it would have served the humour of our academic community. The Two Episcopalians, Retired Vincent W. Uher, III Baker '85 Ian L. Hersey SRC '84 Editor's note: Through an unexplained mixup, the Two Episcopalians, Retired's first letter appeared in the editor's box. However, the letter would not have appeared in the Misclass section even if it had been found in its proper place. To say that the letter contains no argument of ideology, but is meant "to give cause for an occasional laugh, and nothing more" is a deliberately naive pretense. Simply because the tone is both patronizing and needling, and the language prances humorously with quasi-British smugness, does not alter the basic rebuttal nature of the letter. Furthermore, no matter what the manifest intent of the letter, it latently functions as a personaljibe at Jim Anderson. The letter may not, after all, be a "meaningful discussion of ideas," but it is a sharp critique of Anderson. One can infer from their argument "questions and opinions of a serious nature would be best delivered in person" that saying someone is "deluded" or has a "nebulous, childlike vision of God"" is not of a serious nature. Moreover, one can infer from the same argument that personal attacks are thus best delivered anonymously in a public forum. No one might have taken the letter seriously if printed in the Misclass, but after reading Anderson's name 10 times, they might not have taken Anderson seriously again. Perhaps I share the Balinese inclination to avoid using personal names unless for intimacy; nevertheless, in your pretty, verbal onslaught, Anderson lost 10-0. The argument that "surely no one would read a letter in Misclass signed 'Two Episcopalians, Retired' and regard it as the Truth " is not supported by reaction to many Misclass entries this year. Bert the Big Dog, Frustrated Blonde, Zorro: all of these writers have been taken seriously enough to evoke intensely felt response. I still believe the unseen author garners more, shall we say, authority in his freedom from personal questioning. The original letter asked if the activities of the Bible-studying students that Anderson praised were "productive of good." Yet was the letter itself productive of good? If the writers indeed had "questions and opinions of a serious nature," why could they not have been incorporated them for the benefit of readers who may not know so much theology, or be able to discuss it so eloquently? Why try instead to rob Anderson of "that which not enriches (them), I And makes (him) poor indeed"? I mentioned in an early editorial that unsigned letters will be relegated to the Misclass, but I did • not say all would be printed. Some letters simply require a signature. The reviewer, of Main Street Theater was indeed Ray Isle, and his name ought to have appeared with his comments; the "Ed." referred to the section editor, and not to myself. Authorship of submissions is verified as much as possible. Finally, I know who Schiller and Goethe are, and if they were alive, they'd probably be in Baker or Will Rice. Since the authors have revealed themselves, here is the text of their original letter: Mr. Anderson must be specific as to which God he is referring in his opening question, "When was the last time you felt the presence of God in your life?" Does he mean Jesus, since he confuses the concept of the person of Jesus with the term God later on in his "confession"? Do only those involved in the Rice Christian organizations feel the presence of God as he so absurdly intimates? His further invocation of the blessings of his God upon members of Christian ecclesial (sic) crowds at Rice we will not question. Indeed, it may be "different" for more Rice students to be in "Bible studies," partying only in Christian circles and coming out of the closet to babble Jesus' name, but is this productive of good? "By now you've looked down the page to see who is writing this stuff about Jesus." Really! Heretofore Mr. Anderson has only made a passing reference to the utterance of the name of Jesus. Is Jesus God? We further regret that Mr. Anderson has been deluded for so long. He writes of making an easy mental and spiritual choice for his myth of Jesus, but in stating that it was physically and socially difficult, is this to refer to some form of asceticism on the order of hair shirts or the giving up of beer? What pretense in imagining that Jesus lives His life through Mr. Anderson! Does he have a crucifixion planned for himself? We shan't toy with his nebulous, childlike vision of God answering his prayers. We are so very happy that Mr. Anderson found the confessional experience so simple in the light of the excruciating processes toward belief of so many literate Christians. Concerning the next "paragraph," We would hope Mr. Anderson would have the inner strength to take responsibility for himself and to find security outside of the intervention of the supernatural. The theories Mr. Anderson espouses in the next "paragraph" contradict everything which has gone before. Suddenly he calls upon the individual to act instead of letting his God coerce him to His Will. Would he have us believe that all one must do is make a conscious decision for Jesus and life will be peachy-keen? Would he have us believe that God would withdraw His Grace from those who don't babble the name of Jesus? Is Mr. Anderson so learned and so endowed with the Holy Spirit that he may disregard Hugh and Richard of St. Victor and forget that the universe, according to these men of mystical gifts, is wholly revelatory of the Divine in every bit of empirical data? Mr. Anderson seems to rely on God now to win his arguments for him instead of using his own mental faculties. (Your outlook, your perspective, sir, is hideously warped.) Dear, dear Mr. Anderson, you have not a clue as to the authentic nature of a miracle, do you, poor chap? Are we to assume God is simple, that we mere mortals may perceive the Ineffable? In the words of the great Kyot: "Silly fool, impetuous brat! Dost thou know where thou art at? Dost thou know thy true God's name? Jesus and Father, one and the same? Whilst thou be at it, consider this see Threshing, page 6 COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING MAJORS THE MOVE IS ON TO . . . the leading name in the computer applications field where the moving spirit is sparked by a 60% compounded growth rate, innovative business communications systems, and severe environment systems — all backed by a strong international sales and service network. ROLM has locations throughout the U.S. and Canada, including Austin, Texas and the San Francisco Bay Area, and is seeking talented graduates interested in exciting, fast-moving career opportunities in: SOFTWARE • Real-Time Computing • Distributed Systems • Operating Systems • Data Base Management Systems • Data Communications • Diagnostics • Electronic Mail • Software Tools: compilers, debuggers, etc. • Test Engineering • Support Engineering HARDWARE • Data Communications • Digital and Analog Design • Microprocessor Applications • Telephony • Office Systems • Production Engineering • Test Engineering • Field Operations Engineering • Move on to ROLM . . . into your future today! ROLM's award-winning environment and exceptional compensation and benefits will provide you with everything you need for professional growth and achievement Here are some of the benefits included in ROLM's outstanding package: — Tuition reimbursement for graduate study at leading universities. — Comprehensive health, dental and life insurance programs. — Profit sharing and stock purchase plan. — Three month paid sabbatical after 6 years employment. ON-CAMPUS INTERVIEWS Thursday, February 10 Contact your Placement Center for an appointment and literature. If unable to attend our interview session, please forward your resume to Judy Tisdale, University Relations Manager, ROLM Corporation, 4900 Old Ironsides Drive, M/S 105, Santa Clara, CA 95050. We are'&n equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. CORPORATION The Rice Thresher, February 4, 1983, page 5
Page 1 and 2: A" •$ z -rf , Hackerman shrugs of
Page 3: BEYOND THE HEDGES/by Michele Gilles
Page 7 and 8: Heliums given grant to explore plat
Page 9 and 10: Thresher/Fine Arts Shange finds tea
Page 11 and 12: Preview Players continue success of
Page 13 and 14: Cinema Children give their comments
Page 15 and 16: THE RICi THRESHER/SPORTS Healthy ne
Page 17 and 18: INTRAMURALS Cinzano romps to soccer
Page 19 and 20: Obedience to form, while no more bl

A" -rf Hackerman shrugs off low ratings of grad programs - Rice ...

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