Chugging Trouble with ASB Rice’s very along training own celebrity INSIDE The Thresher profiles mem- ASB site-leader critiques the Baker College freshman Mi- BRC begins bers of each college’s beer required training class for chael Groth garners 2 million discussions with bike teams. ineffectiveness, unfairness. views on Pokemon video. real estate company. See Sports p. 9 see Ops p. 5 see A&E p. 6 See P. 4 Volume CI, Issue No. 23 StudeNt-RuN sINCe 1916 wedNesday, maRCh 26, 2014 House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi visits Rice by TINa NazeRIaN ThResheR Staff Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Rice Uni- versity Tuesday, March 18 at the James A. Baker III Institute for M artel college Public Policy. She spoke about a variety of domestic and foreign Martel College students construct a life-size Candyland board game out policy issues in a conversation of wood on the Martel sundeck. Structures include Gumdrop Mountain, a with Baker Institute Founding two-story Lord Licorice’s Castle, Grandma Nut’s peanut brittle cottage and Director Ambassador Edward the five-story facade of King Kandy’s Candy Castle. Djerejian. Former Secretary of State James A. Baker introduced Pelosi as not only a trailblazer for wom- en but also as one of the most ef- fective members of Congress of our time, with a host of legisla- Work zone HaNSZeN COLLEGE tive achievements to her credit. Willy Week has arrived at Rice, which means that stu- Hanszen College freshmen Andrew Elsey, Patrick Granahan and Kenny Gro- “She and I are living proof szman build a root-beer shooting 12-foot crane, a nod to Crane Day. that you can be at opposite ends dents are hard at work creating artistic masterpieces — of the political spectrum and still like floats, giant board games and even a banana stand like each other,” Baker said. — for their colleges in preparation for Beer Bike. Baker college Baker said Pelosi, whose fa- ther and brother both served as mayors of Baltimore, followed The first Baker Hell Car rode in 1987, its flames the family tradition of political earning Baker College the moniker “College from involvement when she moved to San Francisco and became an Hell.” Two years ago, a few Baker students decid- important part of the California ed to bring the Beer Bike tradition back to life. democratic party, eventually be- ing elected to the House of Rep- “While we only painted it last year, this year, resentatives in 1987, where she we’re welding on horns and spikes to give it more has served ever since. character, and we’re pumped for Beer Bike,” “Once in Washington, [Pelosi] not only made history, she made Baker senior Adrian Yao said. it again, and again. In 2001, Baker College senior Adrian Yao works on the Baker Hell Car, a scrap car she became the House Minority that he and several other students have rebuilt from the frame up. Whip, the first woman to ever hold that post. A year later, she rose to House Minority Leader, For McMurtry College’s Beer Bike theme of also the first woman to hold that Adrunken Development: There’s Always Beer in the post,” Baker said. “Then, in 2007, Banana Stand, students decided to build a replica [Pelosi] became the 60th speaker of the United States House of of the banana stand from the show. Representatives, and the highest “Bananas are a huge part of McMurtry; it’s our ranking woman in the history of the United States Congress, a po- first organically started student tradition since my sition she held until 2011.” freshman year,” McMurtry senior Ryan Johnson Pelosi said she believes said. “We wanted to make it something special this the biggest challenge facing American women today are the year, and we wanted it to personify the beer drink- challenges that face America, ing spirit of Willy Week with a McMurtry flair.” McMurtry college mentioning a forum that con- gresswoman Sheila Jackson McMurtry College seniors Ryan Johnson and Garrett McMurtry and sopho- hosted, titled “When Women more Charlie Greulich build the banana stand from Arrested Development. Succeed, America Succeeds.” “ “We believe there are some ob- All photos by frAnkie huAng stacles to women’s fulfillment,” Pelosi said. “Equal pay, paid sick leave, issues that relate to child care, early childhood education, [these] are issues that would give women a higher comfort level in Shepherd to build new opera house in West Lot the workplace, or whatever their pursuit is. We have, in talking to by ANdRew Ta “The architect will be the New-York of building a new opera theater, and new building will reduce available women and listening to women, News EdItoR based firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro,” additional funds were raised by Rice to parking spaces. really seen that whatever matters Clements said. “Rice alum [Renfro] is complete the project. “An underground parking garage to their children is what matters Rice alumnus Charles Renfro (Will a partner with the firm. Pre-design and “The anonymous gift, announced that would be built below the new facil- to women, and its about their Rice ‘89) will be the lead architect for design will take place over the next last year, allowed Rice to begin mov- ity and would serve the needs of both health, their education, their the Shepherd School of Music’s new year, with construction likely to begin ing forward with the initial phase of music buildings, in addition to other economic security. And some opera theater, which is scheduled to in late spring or summer of 2015.” this project, which included forming users of the west end of campus, has women are not moms but, none- begin construction“ just west of Alice Clements said seed funding for the a search committee and interviewing been discussed, but not confirmed, at theless, what works for moms Pratt Brown Hall in mid-2015, Ex- building came from an anonymous gift prospective architecture, design and this point,” Clements said. works for them as well.” ternal Relations Coordinator for the during the Centennial Campaign. Ac- acoustics firms,” Clements said. According to Clements, the new op- McMurtry College senior Shepherd School of Music Holli Cle- cording to Rice’s website, the gift was According to Clements, the uni- era house will provide a wide range of Skye Kelty said she was unsatis- ments said. designated specifically for the purpose versity has acknowledged that the 0see opera, page 2 0see pelosi, page 3 2 NEWS the Rice Thresher Wednesday, March 26, 2014 “Theater design will be led by Fischer 0OPERA Dachs Associates, and Threshold Acoustics BRC begins expansion talks with from page 1 will be the consultants in charge of acoustic design,” Clements said. “The general con- needed services to the Shepherd School and the tractor for the project will be the Linbeck Alexandria Real Estate Equities community. Group, which has overseen the construction of Rice’s McMurtry College, Brochstein Pavil- “AREE has a broad interest in Houston –– it’s “The new facility will include an opera theater by Oliver Su & Yasna Haghdoost ion and James Turrell’s ‘Twilight Epiphany’ For the Thresher & News Editor the city with the most potential that it’s not in- with an orchestra pit and other associated spac- Skyspace.” volved in ––so AREE sees Houston as it’s next es, including rehearsal rooms, practice rooms Kaitlyn Johnson, a vocal performance ma- The BioScience Research Collaborative of Rice major city and location, ” Leebron said. “A part and teaching studios,” Clements said. “The pre- jor , said the new opera house will University and Alexandria Real Estate Equities of this is specifically about Rice and the BRC design process will help us determine exactly “We’re all really excited,” Johnson, a are beginning a discussion on a potential future but a part of it is also about the city of Houston, what we are able to include in the new building. Hanszen College junior, said. “[Chair of Vocal collaboration, according to President David Le- and those two are related because we can’t be It will be designed to work in complement with Studies Stephen King] said this is a reflection ebron. as strong as we’d like to be unless Houston is a our current facilities –– to meet the needs of the of how Rice opera students are having success Leebron said he believes a partnership with center for biomedical research and application.” Shepherd School as well as [those of] the greater with different opera companies around the AREE would be beneficial for the BRC given his- While Rice and AREE have had a relationship university for many years to come.” world. Now, they have a facility to match. [We] tory of developing biomedical research centers in the past, the conversation for a partnership According to Clements, design and construc- have the faculty and resources put in place across the country. began more recently, Leebron said. tion for the theater will be handled by well-re- but didn’t have the performance facility. With “AREE is probably the most successful devel- “The conversation between Rice and AREE spected, specialized firms, some of which have the construction of the opera house, we will.” oper of biomedical research centers in the U.S.,” actually started years ago, because people from worked on Rice previously. Leebron said. “We want the BRC to be as success- Rice and AREE knew each other,” Leebron said. ful as it can be, and that means sort of being part “But it wasn’t until one year ago that progress of a kind of ecosystem of biomedical institutions.” was really made.” Leebron also said that AREE has a good track According to Leebron, a relationship be- record of cooperation with academic institutes, tween AREE and the BRC could lead to greater such as Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of opportunities for students.