>>>»)»> the Rice Thresher Vol. LXXXVIII, Issue No. 29 SINCE 1916 Friday, April 27, 2001 Students to vote on drug policy in fall by Rachel Rustin Will Rice College junior Lindsey THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF Trott and Will Rice sophomore Vikki Hutto, both members of Students ; if Along with the homecoming for a Sensible Drug Policy, first pre- i court nominees, a resolution calling sented the resolution to the senate for a re-evaluation of the country's April 9. Senators and college presi- drug laws will be on this fall's Home- dents decided to gather opinions coming Ballot. from their constituents, so the reso- At the Student Association meet- lution was brought up again at the ing Monday, the senate voted to in- meeting this Monday, after every clude a referendum for a resolution college had had a cabinet meeting. fit supporting reform of the Higher Edu- Representatives from Rice's chap- ; *9 cation Act. The referendum will need ter of SSDP went to seven of the a two-thirds vote to be passed in the college cabinet meetings and to election. 'Hie HEA clause mandates lunch at Brown College. that students convicted of a drug-re- 'Hie resolution presented Monday lated offense lose federal financial aid. Sec REFERENDUM, Page 9 Petition urges Rice to help prevent sweatshops ROB GADDI/THRESHER by Mark Berenson wrote that the WRC and CLC codes Making a splash THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF differ in the wage levels workers Will Rice College freshman Javier Garcia plays on an spur-of-the-moment slip n' slide set up in the Will Rice must receive and in the information quad Wednesday afternoon. Rice Students for Global Justice manufacturers must disclose about sent a letter to President Malcolm the factories. Gillis Monday urging the university The CLC only requires workers to take a more proactive role in pre- be paid the legal minimum wage, venting the use of sweatshop labor while the WRC code of conduct has Police arrest man wanted in four states among its apparel manufacturers. a wage provision guaranteeing The letter, accompanied by the wages that cover the cost of living. by Olivia Allison minutes later, and Vanderwater sus- Florida, South Carolina and Arizona signatures of360 students, asks Rice The WRC also requires a full pub- THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF pected that he had been the caller. have warrants for McClain's arrest to join the Workers Rights Consor- lic disclosure about factories, but McClain is a black male, 5 feet 4 on charges that include possession tium, a non-profit organization that the CLC code has no such provision. University Police arrested a man inches tall with dark skin. of possible drug paraphernalia, ob- enforces company compliance with "(If Rice joins the WRC J, every with warrants in four states — in- Vanderwater called police and taining property by false pretenses a code of conduct designed to pro- factory that makes Rice apparel cluding one for a felony in Florida — told them that McClain was still in and scheme to defraud. tect workers' rights. would have to disclose its location at the Campus Store Wednesday. the store. When police arrived, he "Tli is guy is amazing," Reiter said. The WRC charges a fee of 1 per- and the working conditions in the Enoch Eugene McClain, 48, at- had four books in his possession, "He is a major con artist." cent of the revenue a university re- factory," Livorsi said. tempted to steal four books about an which police suspect he was attempt- Reiter said police records listed ceives from apparel sales, according About 75 colleges and universities hour before the store closed at 5 p.m. ing to steal. Police took McClain to 14 aliases, eight different dates of to its Web site. Based on current sales, in the United States, including Colum- Lt. Dianna Marshall said Campus the University Police statiqn. birth and four social security num- Campus Store Manager Michelle bia University and Georgetown Uni- Store Manager Michelle Jones Marshall said this type of theft is bers for McClain. Jones Vanderwater said the fee would versity, have joined the WRC. Vanderwater notified police at about common in the bookstore. For a Class B misdemeanor such cost Rice around $4,000 per year. At press time, Rice spokesman 2:45 p.m. that a man claiming to be- "Periodically, we get reports of as attempted theft of the books, Currently, Wee belongs to the Terry Shepard said the university had long to a Christian organization had these people who come into the McClain could be given a fine of up Collegiate License Company, which no comment because Gillis had been called and said he had bought books bookstore and go downstairs and to $2,000 and up to 180 days in Har- limits the products to which the Rice out of town and unable to review the and wanted to return them. He then pick up books, put them in a bag, ris County Jail. Reiter said because logo can be applied. CLC also has a letter. Shepard, the Vice President asked questions about the store, such and then they come upstairs and of McClain's previous criminal labor code. for Public Affairs, said Gillis, an inter- as when the bookstore closed and they want to return these books for record, he will probably receive the However, in the letter to Gillis, national economist, would be best the name of the manager. cash," Marshall said. maximum sentence. Wiess College senior Daniel Livorsi able to respond to questions. McClain came to the store 45 Sgt. Steve Reiter said Georgia, See BOOKSTORE, Page INSIDE BRIAN STOLER. THRESHER Senior right-handed pitcher Kenny Baugh set a new school record by facing just 27 batters in Rice's 10-0 win over Hawaii. See Story. Page 21. Keeping in touch A&E Page 13 RAMN will folk you up over the summer LIFESTYLES Page 14 The summer directory is A recap of Owl Weekend online, http://sa.rice.edu/ser- vices/summerdir, and will be ac- SPORTS Page 18 cessible throughout the sum- WAC tennis tourney previews mer. Quote of the Week "I really like not being in America." Time for a break — IV/ess College senior Kate Ketner, about winning the Freeman This is the last regular IAUKA W»i.lNlOh/TrtRE5HtH Scholarship. See Slory, Page 4. Thresher of the semester. The Are you a badfish too? graduation and summer issues Weekend Weather Will Rice College senior Michael "Bish" Bishop, lead singer of Rice-based band Cousin Mary, performs Friday will be mailed to students' per- Friday: Sunny, 58-82 night as part of Wless College's Jambalaya Fest. The 12-hour music festival featured a wide variety of bands, manent addresses. Saturday: Partly sunny, 62 80 most of which contained current or former students. Sunday: Partly cloudy, 64-81 THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2001 RATIONALE &y DAVID the Rice Thresher IN flELL OHIEN Leslie Liu, Michae' Nalepa Robert Reichle Opinio i Editor EVERYONE IS OPEN TO Editors in Chief NEW IDEAS, AND YOU NEVER fiAVE TO DEAL I LOVE RICE. WITH BUREACRATIC RED TAPE TO 6ET YOUR VOICE Affecting change locally EARD. and globally In the past year, Rice has seen a staggering increase in student activism, debunking the old adage that Rice students are apathetic. Last spring saw a walkout in support of the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle, the first Racial Solidarity Week and a campaign CAN MY ECONOMICALLY protesting the selection of former President George Bush as com- IAN AAV ZERO-TOLERANCE^I 10N0MICALLY PREJUDICED PREJUDICED STATISTICALLY mencement speaker. The campus mobilized again during December's STATISTICALLY SKEWED SKEWED PR0-LEARNIN6 KTRU shutdown, and just this week students pushed for the reform of PR0-LEARNIN6 44I6-HER ^ NOP^ HI6-HER EDUCATION ACT the Higher Education Act (See Story, Page 1). EDUCATION ACT REFORM BE REFORM BE PASSED AS A No matter how you feel about these causes, the amount of student EPASSED AS A REFERENDUM^ RESOLUTION? activism is impressive. Skeptics might claim that some of these issues are lost causes or a waste of time, especially since students are taking up causes that may not directly affect Rice. However, we find the recent efforts of Rice Students for Global Justice particularly notable. The organization, which sent a letter to President Malcolm Gillis Monday, is urging Rice to join the Workers Rights Consortium, which would ensure that Rice's apparel manufac- turing operations comply with stricter salary and work conditions (See Story, Page 1). RSGJ claims such a move would ensure that Rice apparel CAN MY STATISTICALLY is not made using sweatshop labor. SKEWED PR0-LEARNIN6 Although we're waiting until we hear Rice's official position on the HI6-HER EDUCATION ACT NOP€ letter before taking a position on how the administration should act, we ^ NOPE^^ REFORM BE TABLED TO A find RSGJ's actions commendable. The issue they're tackling is of both LATER DAiir global and local relevance. Sweatshops are a problem in all parts of the world, including the United States, and if Rice policy were to actually change it could have a concrete impact on a global issue. Furthermore, current and future Rice community members are the primary consum- ers of the apparel in question, so the policy directly affects us as well. Regardless of whether RSGJ's letter changes anything, we're pleased that Rice students are aiming for activism with local and international consequences. CAN MY PRO-LEARNIN HI6-HER EDUCATION ACT REFORM BE A Examining restrictions REFERENDUM FOR N£XT SURE YEAR? The Honor Code that's touted in Rice admissions brochures looks great on paper.