Music School Admission Rule Questioned Moneymagazine Ranks

SINCE 1916 VOLUME 80, NUMBER 3 OBVIOUSLY, MONEY GOT TO USE VISITOR PARKING SEPTEMBER 4, 1992 Music school admission rule questioned Parking for students by Leezie Kim tion, who wrote a letter to Hammond than others." Scheid pointed out that describing in detail her reasons for athletes and architecture students, wanting to leave the school. Earlier, who also are admitted through a What began as a scheduling prob- Hammond offered her a schedule separate process, are not committed lem for one Shepherd School of mu- which cut down her music classes to a program for a year. sic student has led to questions about for the first year, but would require 1Tie process by which the the dean the fairness of a new condition for more than four years of study if she of music, the dean of admissions, and admission to the music school and chose to stay with music. The stu- the chair of the admissions commit- about the process by which this con- dent did not accept this offer. tee created this policy has been dition became university policy. Last winter, at the time of the brought into question by some aca- The arguments revolve around student's interview, the new policy demic advisors. Pointing out that the three lines of text added to the Shep; did not yet exist, but was the topic of policy affects curriculum, English herd School freshman class's accept conversation between Dean of Ad- Professor and Hanszen College tance letters which made admittance missions Richard Stabell, Dean of Master Dennis Huston said,"Itseems conditional upon a commitment to the Shepherd School Michael Ham- to me, and I'm speaking only from study music for one year. The letters, mond and Chair of the Admissions my own knowledge of the university which were sent out April 15 to regu- Committee Fred Rudolph. rules, that they have exceeded their The reason for the one-year com- authority." Huston was also careful mitment condition is two-fold, stem- to note, however, that the situation is 'People are always ming from problems faced by the fraught with ambiguities."I just got admissions department and the concerned because the student trying to find ways of Shepherd School. seemed to have so few choices.... "People are always trying to find Both sides have powerful argu- being admitted to ways of being admitted to universi- ments," he said. ties," said Stabell." [The question is,J The new condition is not de- universities.... [T]he what's the path of least resistance; scribed anywhere outside the ac- how can I position myself to get in? ceptance letter. It is absent from the 1 ... [T] he word on the street is that one General Announcements, the codi- word on the street is of the ways to get into Rice is through fied rules and regulations of under- the school of music. Because if you graduate academic life at Rice. The that one of the ways to have talent in music and your aca- rule was not published in this year's demics aren't as strong, since the admission applications. get into Rice is through music school is growing, they will The student's academic advisors Rice students parked on Kent Street Tuesday at 3 p.m take you." SEE MUSIC, PAGE 4 the school of music.' Stabell said he does not know this student, or the details of this particu- lar situation, but that cases like the Money magazine ranks Rice first again —Richard Stabell type he described have occurred in the past effect was too dramatic for it to have MIT, said, "Basically the low cost of lar admission students, state, "Your Vice President for the Shepherd by Terzah Ewing been a coincidence." Rice was what made the decision for admission requires thatyou complete School Gary Smith estimates one or Though the quality of the applica- me." a minimum of one full year of study in two students depart from the music For the second year in a row, tions did not rise markedly, Stabell List year's article also attracted a the Shepherd School of Music be- school every other year. Even this Moneymagazme has ranked Rice first said that the sheer volume of applica- more geographically diverse group. fore considering transfer to another small loss can create a noticeable gap on their annual list of the best buys in tions allowed the admission office to "I think the article really exposed academic division." in the school's departments. American higher education. choose the class of 1996 more selec- the West Coast to Rice," said Jones One student, admitted to the mu- "[The strategy] means someone Though the September issue of tively. Many admitted students were freshman Haley Robertson, a native sic school with this letter, wants to else who went through the proper the magazine is notyeton the shelves, also accepted at institutions such as of San Jose, California. "A lot of my leave the music school but has not . channels has lost a space at the my- President George Rupp and Richard Harvard, Yale, and the Massachu- friends decided to apply after hear- completed one year there. The stu- "sic school," said Hammond. "With Stabell, dean of admissions, were no- setts Institute of Technology. ing about the rankings." dent acknowledges receiving the let- only 20 or 25 students in each admit- tified of Rice's ranking Monday. Tom Watson, a Brown freshman Stabell said he hopes these trends ter and understanding the conditions ting class, you can see how by losing "Obviously I'm very happy about who was accepted by Cal Tech and will continue with this year's ran king. under which she matriculated to the a few a year, there is no way to re- it," said Stabell. "I see Rice as a well- Shepherd School. She says, however, coup." kept secret, and appearances in polls that the one-year commitment was The fairness of the new policy is such as this one and the one in U.S. University funds not to be never explained to her during her being questioned by some involved News and World Report have really admissions or music school inter- with the student's case. Associate increased national awareness." views, and she was not prepared to Director of Academic Advising Mark This growing prestige had dra- used to purchase alcohol have so few eleetives in her first two Scheid feared the policy might be matic tangible results for the admis- years. unfair in putting undue burden on a sion office last year. Stabell and his make it clear that what is said in the "[EJveryone told me how easy it small number of select students since colleagues received over 7500 appli- by Sei Chong alcohol policies and in the student was to change from one major to music students often don't have as cations in 1991-92, a 24 percent in- handbook is really what we mean," another...that [the flexibility] was one many choices as other students crease over the previous year's 6000. The administration will no longer she said. of the university's publicized at- do."[It's] telling people all students "I would attribute most of that to appropriate money to colleges for Presently, at Sid Richardson Col- tributes," said the student in ques- are equal, but some are more equal Money's ranking," said Stabell. "The the purchase of alcohol, starting next lege, $2,500out of a budget of $28,000 year, according to Dean of Students goes to the purchase of alcohol at Sarah Burnett SRC, according to Jay Murphy, SRC "There was a meeting, and it was treasurer. ...and parking for faculty the university attorney's opinion that "This could potentially have a ma- the university needs to stop spending jor impact on the nature of social university money on the purchase of events here in the colleges," said alcohol," Burnett said. "The masters Stan Hsue, Brown president. He said felt it would be too disruptive [to that the RPC would be affected more implement] this year, so it will go than the colleges because it would be into effect next year." less able to raise money for alcohol in This ruling affects any money col- other ways. lected by the university. Thus the Gordon Wittenberg, SRC master, $60 college fee, which is collected by said that it was unclear how the col- the university, will not be available leges would raise money for alcohol for the purchase of alcohol. under the new system, and that the "I've consulted with outside issue of students who don't want to counsel," said Rice General Counsel have their money go to alcohol will Shirley Redwine. "The conventional have to be discussed at length. wisdom among lawyers is that this "I've always liked the indepen- [using university funds for alcohol] dence and the self-governing quali- is not wise for the university." ties of the colleges," he said. "I think Redwine also said that this action we can handle it." is not an attempt by the university to control drinking on campus. FEATURES "Rice students are adults. It is first the responsibility of the individual student to obey the law. The univer- Students find sity has not tried or wanted to ban drinking," she said. "Because we extraordinary [Rice University] resist the old idea of the university as in loco parentis, we summer concede we cannot control the activities of each student." activities The "SPAC" lot, 2 p.m. Wednesday. "The university is trying to re- move itself from student's parties to 8 2 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1992 THE RICE THRESHER OPINION On music school rule, end doesn't justify the means A new policy making admission to the Shepherd School of Music conditional on remaining in the music school for one year has recently led to questions about both the requirement itself and the process by which it came about.

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