OP-ED P. 3 A&E p. 8 FEATURE P. 14 Misrepresenting Muslims Tantalizing taco tastes Dual degrees What kinds of misconceptions have the media created about Our intrepid reporters continue their taco tour to tackle one One MBA student takes a break from the books to help bring Muslims and the Islamic faith? of the oldest taco outposts in the city. mixed martial arts to Houston. VOLUME XCVII, ISSUE NO. 17 the RicSTUDENT-RUe N SINCE 1916 FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2010 SA begins Owl Days blanket dates to tax reform change Oversight committee BY SETH BROWN established to help THRESHER STAFF Come mid-April, prospective stu- student organizations dents will descend on campus in greater numbers than ever before. Rice's Student Admission Council BY SETH BROWN and the Office of Undergraduate Ad- THRESHER STAFF mission set this year's Owl Days and Admit Days in the final two weeks of Earlier this month, the Student ' V*"V -' classes, giving admitted students the Association created a new commit- opportunity to visit Rice and get a tee on blanket tax reform to correct taste of campus life. the perceived lack of oversight in This year's Owl Days are sched- tax proposals. I M uled for April 15-16. As in previous The need for oversight of the un- years, prospective students will stay regulated system was highlighted by LOGAN BECK/ overnight with student volunteers. repeated confusion at election time. The two Admit Days will occur the For example, until last year, Univer- next week, on Friday, April 23 and The Barbara and David Gibbs Rec Center was recently outfitted with its first piece of art, an instal- sity Blue, a former student-run literary Up, up and Monday, April 26 - the final day of publication that had been defunct for lation made entirely out of recycled plastic bottles and bottle caps. For information on how artist classes and the first day of dead week, several years, continued to receive $i a-weigh Aurora Robson found inspiration and ultimately named the piece "Lift," turn to page 7. respectively. from each undergraduate student's tu- Owl Days will be held on a Thurs- ition. Of the six blanket tax proposals day and Friday this year in order to to reach last year's ballot, the only one accommodate student workloads to pass was an amendment to remove at the beginning of the wetf;. Two UBlue's blanket tax. Rice's 'best value' ranking dropsyear s ago, three sets of Monday- Tuesday Owl Days were held, and last year, OwJ Days were held on a it BY MICHELLE JIN that Rice has done really well, and it ton Review evaluates the "best value" pair of Wednesday-Thursday sets. THRESHER STAFF has done really well over time," Col- colleges, as well as changes in other For Owl Days, student volunteers I think the attitude lins said. "In the last four years, Rice universities' financial aid systems. host prospective students overnight of the student body Following a year marked by nu- and Swarthmore College are the only "Schools like Harvard and Yale and take them to classes. On Admit merous budget cuts and nearly $1 two schools that have been in the [which ranked second and fifth this Days, the students attend several pan- will have to change billion lost from the endowment, The top 10 all those four years." year, respectively] have recently been els and take a tour of campus, but do — most kids don't un- Princeton Review, in conjunction with This year, Swarthmore received very aggressive on financial aid," Col- not stay overnight with a host. derstand what they're USA Today, ranked Rice seventh in the The Princeton Review's top ranking lins said. The cap for Owl Days attendees nation for "best value private college" for "best value private college." Despite the 18 percent drop in is currently set at 600 prospective voting on. The S,4 for 2010, a drop from previous years. Rice's comparatively low tuition, Rice's endowment last year, there are students — 100 more than last year's needs to better edu- In 2009, Rice ranked fourth and low student debt upon graduation, no cutbacks planned for the universi- number. However, it may be possible cate the whole under- in 2008, Rice ranked first in the same need-blind financial aid policy ty's financial aid policy, Collins said. to increase this number if enough survey. The university has been in and no-loan threshold of $80,000 The relatively low cost of tuition, students volunteer, according to SAC graduate population the top 10 in the category for five of - raised from $60,000 last year — a large determinant in the ranking, Overnight Hosting Chair Alex Wyatt, on all of the issues. the past six years. all contributed to the "best value" is one important factor that attracts who said he hopes that after SAC gets Despite the drop from last year. ranking, Collins said. students to Rice, Vice President for a volunteer registration Web site up Vice President for Finance Kathy Col Collins also said that the fluc- Enrollment Chris Munoz. and running, there will be at least 450 Rachel Orosco lins said she remained optimistic. tuation in Rice's rankings is due to "Primarily, [what allows Rice to student volunteers. Jones 'io "One important thing to notice is changes each year in how The Prince- O see VALUE, page 6 O see OWL, page 7 \ » • • Attempts by the Rice Program Rocbar selected as 100 Days venue Council and KTRU to increase their respective blanket taxes, as well as representatives at meals or at the pecting to receive $5,000-$6,500 on for the event is $1,000, which was efforts from R2 and Open to begin re- New location, same Rice Memorial Center info desk. the event, both in ticket sales and supplied by the alumni office. The ceiving blanket tax money by becom- The door price is less expensive through an arrangement the com- committee also raised $250 from the ing subsidiary organizations of the celebration set than it was last year, Chair of the mittee has with the venue, Newman homecoming tailgate. Student Association, failed. Senior Committee Danny Newman said. The committee is composed The committee has arranged for Rlanket taxes, paid by every under- BY SCOTT NORGAARD said, because the committee did not of 17 seniors, with representatives buses to transport students to and graduate on top of tuition, typically go THRESHER STAFF want to penalize last-minute attend- from every college. from the club, Newman said. The to campus organizations that benefit ees. In addition to a ticket, each en- As in recent years, the dance first bus, which gives seniors prior- the student body as a whole, with nine Busy seniors worrying about life trant will need Rice identification, or is not technically 100 days before ity, will depart from the Sallyport at current subsidiary organizations, in- after Rice have at least one reprieve be accompanied by someone with a graduation due to scheduling con- 9:45 p.m. Afterward, the bus will run cluding the Rice Thresher. Currently, as their collegiate careers wind Rice ID. Rocbar, located at 530 Tex- flicts, but a close approximation, on half-hour intervals. Newman rec- each student pays a total of $68 per down: 100 Days, a dance tradition- as St. near the Preston stop on the Newman, a Jones College senior, ommends students take the metro- year in blanket taxes, and any changes ally celebrated 100 days before com- metrorail, will have drink specials said. Newman said the committee rail to avoid long bus lines. At 12:30 in the paid amount require the approval mencement to kick off the count- for those over 21, including $3 do- chose the venue because of its suc- a.m., a second bus will transport stu- of two-thirds of the voters in the spring down to graduation in May. mestic and $4 "early drinks," which cess two years ago and that they dents from the club back to campus. general election. This year's dance will be held include Mike's Hard Lemonade. did not want to simply return to The committee has also made an ef- The primary goal of the new com- Feb. 2 from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. at 100 Days raises funds for the se- last year's venue, Club26ten, which fort to make cabs available in order mittee will be to work with organiza- Rocbar, a downtown nightclub. nior gala, which cost $25,000 last drew 650 attendees. The committee to maximize the number of ways to tions interested, in increasing their blan Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 year and is expected to cost as much expects 500 students to attend this get students home safely. ket tax funding or becoming subsidiary at the door, and can be purchased this year. The senior committee, year's event. "We are confident that everything S3 see TAX, page 4 from the senior committee college which coordinates 100 Days, is ex- Like last year, the starting budget Osee 100, page 6 50 days (of Beer Bike) Too sexy for this party A whole new world INDEX Opinion 3 ArchiArts: Model, the fundraiser for the sopho- The World Food fair is Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. in the Ladies and gentleman, start your... ped- News 4 als? Today marks the 50-day countdown to more Archis' trip to Paris, is tonight in the Grand Hall of the RMC. Swing by for free food from the Arts & Entertainment 8 Rice's most hallowed holiday, Beer Bike.