Rice Ranks Top in Quality Brockman Receives Over $11 Million in NIST
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OP-ED P. 3 A&E Rl6 SPORTS P. 22 The minibus equation Late night dining Grin and Bear it Houston needs to start thinking small when it comes to public Check out this map of late night dining options. You'll need it The soccer team begins its quest to the NCAA Tournament transportation. when you're hungry at3 a.m. tonight, battling both Baylor and the injury bug. thVOLUME XCVIIe, ISSUE NO . 1Ric STUDENT-RUe N SINCE 1916 FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2009 Rice ranks top in quality BY CINDY DINH THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF We're number one! As detailed in the Princeton Review's new The Best 371 Colleges, Rice ranked at the top in the "best quality of life" cat- 1 .PImImH t y- * - egory. - .. The rankings were based on a T survey of 122,000 students attend- ing the 371 colleges featured in the book. The quality of life ranking was an aggregate of students' assess- ment of food on- and off-campus, dorm life comfort, campus beauty, ease of getting around campus, re- lationship with the local commu- J nity, safety on campus and the sur- m • rounding area, interaction between students, friendliness and happi- ness of students and how smoothly the administration is run. mmm IP* 'Vl" This university offers McMurtry is McMurtrians and their advisors mingle outside of their tent commons, waiting for a dodgeball game to begin on the best combination Wednesday. To find out how the McMurtrians and their rival Duncaroos are being welcomed into the college system, in tents! turn to our four-page spread on Rice's two newest members, which begins on page 11. of a beautiful cam- pus, a small, friendly environment and the opportunities of a big city. Brockman receives over Rayzor Hall welcomes David Leebron $11 million in NIST grant President Spanish Resource Center man Hall will incorporate vibration sible only in the center. ff BY JOSH RUTENBERG BY JOCELYN WRIGHT THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF and noise-controlled underground THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF Hernaiz said he would be meet- labs, as well as better temperature, ingwith the Department of Hispanic President David Leebron said Despite a tough economy and humidity and airflow controls. The new Spanish Resource Cen- Studies in the coming weeks to dis- the quality of life ranking reflects cutbacks in spending, Rice received Brockman Hall is also in the ter, which opened this summer, will cuss what sort of activities, such as the kind of community Rice is. $11.1 million in funding this summer process of obtaining the U.S. Green offer students an opportunity to film festivals, seminars, talks and "This university offers the best from the National Institute of Stan- Building Council's Leadership in learn about Spanish language and conferences they should organize. combination of a beautiful cam- dards and Technology to aid in con- Energy and Environmental Design culture through an extensive refer- "The activities we organize are pus, a small friendly environment struction of the Brockman Hall for (LEED) Silver certification by doing ence database and educational ac- usually in response to the demands and the opportunities of a big city," Physics. things such as recycling construc- tivities, hosted in conjunction with of the faculty and students of the Leebron said. Rice competed for and was tion waste and installing more ef- the Department of Hispanic Stud- university that hosts the Spanish Re- He said his conversations with awarded one of NIST's construction ficient bathroom facilities. ies, Spanish Resource Center Direc- source Center," Hernaiz said. "The transfer students showed him that grants as part of federal stimulus Biochemistry and Cell Biology tor Miguel Hernaiz said. faculty of the department comes up students saw Rice as a friendly, funding. A previous donation from Professor Kathleen Matthews, who Funded by the Ministry of Educa- with ideas and initiatives and sug- supportive community. the A. Eugene Brockman Charitable stepped down last year as dean of tion of Spain and located in Rayzor gestions, and we will try to organize "lt'r part of our culture," Lee- Trust allowed for construction of Natural Sciences, has been work- Hall 321, the center is free and will the activities and funding." bron said. "We're getting better at the building. With a new, additional ing for nearly a decade on the proj- be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays Last spring, Hernaiz said the being small and dynamic." source of funding, money originally ect, Dan Carson, dean of the Wiess from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to students, Spanish Resource Center, which He attributed the residential col- slated for use on Brockman Hall con- School of Natural Sciences said. faculty, staff and the Texas commu- was previously hosted at the Uni- lege system for undergraduates as struction will be freed up for use on The construction of a new phys- nity, Hernaiz said. versity of Houston, cooperated with the most important contributor to other projects, a spokesperson for ics building will provide a central- Sid Richardson senior Mayra two other centers in the southern quality of life. the development staff, who asked to ized location for faculty and stu- Martinez is majoring in Hispanic United States to host a full-day sem- Leebron added that the residen- remain anonymous, said. dents of the Physics and Astronomy Studies and believes the center inar on Spanish writer and philoso- tial college system and Orientation Brockman Hall, which will serve department, which was spread from will be a great addition to the Rice pher Maria Zambrano. Week help facilitate a sense of be- as a new research facility and nex- Herzstein Hall to Dell Butcher Hall. campus, but hopes it will expand The center also organizes ser- longing, and that opportunities us for the Physics and Astronomy Carson noted that the central- its services to the surrounding com- vice teaching activities, normally to bring people from different col- department, began construction in ization was a necessary step. munity as well. for teachers in elementary, middle leges together, such as the space February. The building is scheduled "In spite of [the faculty's] enor- "I hope it will be promoted in and high schools who either teach at Brochstein Pavilion and athletic to be completed by early 2011, and mous successes, location has pro- HISD schools," Martinez said. "The Spanish as a second language or events, abound. will house physics researchers from vided challenges and confusion," center is a good start, but it needs to bilingual programs. Hernaiz said In addition to its first-place the Department of Physics and As- Carson said. "To consolidate will be advertised on- and off-campus." that although the center is hosted ranking, Rice placed eighth for tronomy, as well as photonics and be a step forward." The center, which is one of 14 in Houston, it could also organize "happiest students," up from 15th nanoengineering researchers from Like at the recently-finished in the United States, houses a col- activities away from Houston to ac- last year, and nth for "race/class the Department of Electrical and Bioscience Research Collabora- lection of 2,500 books, 500 refer- commodate the needs of other cities interaction," down from second Computer Engineering, Director of tive, not all researchers will move ence materials such as dictionaries, in Texas. last year. Director of the Office of News and Media Relations B.J. Al- in right away. grammar books and encyclopedias, There are Spanish Resource Cen- Multicultural Affairs Catherine mond said. "Some researchers will have on- resources for teaching Spanish as a ters throughout the world in over 30 Clack said she was not aware of any In addition, the new building going projects, and may not want to foreign language and a movie col- countries, some of which have been particular incident that might have aims to provide a better atmo- move in immediately if it will affect lection of over 400 Spanish films. around for over 15 years, Hernaiz said. caused the student pride and sur- sphere for conducting sensitive them," Assistant Vice President for Hernaiz said he was still working Though the Spanish Resource Center feit of activities on campus. experiments. According to the Con- Facilities, Engineering and Plan- out which materials could be loaned in Texas was previously hosted at the O see QUALITY, page 7 struction at Rice Web site, Brock- ning Doug Tomlinson said. out and which ones would be acces- O see SPAIN, page 4 Heads up, red cups And away we go! B.Y.O.P.P. (Bring Your Own INDEX Of all the orientations in all the world, The oatmeal-slinging, cheer-battling and Pom-Poms) Opinion 2 none quite compare to 0-Week. After six mock beer biking is over. Monday is the News 4 days of orienting yourself to campus, first day of classes; hopefully you paid For all you aspiring cheerleaders, auditions will Arts & Entertainment 15 Saturday marks the beginning of your Dis- attention during those academic advis- be held at 7 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday. RICE! Sports 19 orientation. Freshmen, beware. Upper- ing sessions. Thus begins another 14 FIGHT! NEVER DIE! BLUE, GRAY IN THE SKY! Calendar 23 classmen, let's party. Remember to keep weeks of problem sets, research papers STAND! CHEER! DRINK MORE... err, you get the Backpage 24 your red cups inside. and sleeping through 8 a.m. classes. idea. 2 EDITORIAL THE RICE THRESHER FRIDAY, AUGUST 21,2009 the Rice (Thresher Here we have New colleges promise McMurtry, 0 1 one of two growth, opportunities brand-new LEED-certified It's been nearly four years since President David Leebron first unveiled his plans to bring a pair of new colleges into colleges! Rice's fold.