INSIDE: • Too late to drop, but not too late to withdraw • More South Atrica. pp 2-3. • And lots of college theater See page 9. • Check out those hot new Volume 73, Number 14 THRESHER Friday, November 8, 1985 intramural soccer rankings Rice electorate favors Whitmire by David Friesenhahn The Rice University/Texas Medical Center area voted Election overwhelmingly for incumbent Kathy Whitmire in Houston's mayoral election Tuesday. Unofficial results showed the 85 area giving Whitmire 81.06 percent of the vote. Challenger Louie Welch only managed 18.53 percent BS8 of the area's vote. Support for Whitmire in this 'lIMIJM l' area of the city proved much 91 stronger than for Houston as a -rf whole. Whitmire's finish in the cumulative vote for Houston was discrimination of homosexuals in Houston Mayor Kathy Whitmire celebrates her electoral victory Tuesday night. —E. Salituro over 30 percent poorer than in this civil service hiring. section of the city. Carter, the Straight Slate With all of the city's 480 challenger, campaigned on a Students cautious of divestment precincts reporting, Whitmire had platform which called for the city by Jenny Ettelson 200,788 votes, 58.8 percent of the to administer A.l.D.S. tests to all The Student Association "The S.A. should total. Welch won 138,552, or 40.63 restaurant employees in Houston Senate's proposed resolution percent of vote. and to shut down homosexual against Rice University investment not be talking Rice also helped elect Professor bathhouses. in firms doing business in South about political of Graduate Business Administra- However, he never posed a Africa and proposed forum to tion George Greanias to another serious threat to Greanias at any discuss the issue may be met with issues, but student term as city councilman point in the campaign and could indifference on the part of many representing District C. not force the incumbent city students. issues, such as the Greanias won by a comfortable councilman into a run-off. Many students either question college system margin, capturing 30,493 votes, Running third was Denton, a the right of the Senate to discuss 65.99 percent of the total cast in his video news editor employed at political issues or say they are not social life after the district. Charles C. Carter finished Electronic News Services. interested in the issue of second, with 10,061 votes, 21.77 Denton favored a limited zoning divestment. drinking age is percent. Carl Denton won 4,618 ordinance for Houston and Richardson President Steve raised." votes, 9.99 percent. Sam Johnsom wanted the city to lobby for more McLaughlin has advised the Steve McLaughlin —M. Hulberf finished last, with 1,036 votes, 2.24 federal Environmental Protection Senate to steer clear of political should do what the students want, percent. Agency Superfund money to help issues. He believes that "The S.A. McLaughlin also questions how and 1 don't think this is what they The conservative political action rid the county of its toxic waste should not be talking about well the Senate's decision reflects want." group Straight Slate had targeted dumps. political issues, but student issues, student opinion. Margaret Chriss.a Baker junior, Greanias for defeat in this election Greanias campaigned for more such as the college system social "When I make a statement," he doubted the forum would interest because has supported city City Council participation in the life after the drinking age is said, "it implies what the college students who were not yet ordinances to guard against the see Election, page 6 raised." feels. Student organizations see Students, page 6 Dividing up the RSIO budget SA funds community service project ideas by David Friesenhahn The Student Association Senate left for future projects: distributed left over funds from the "This is a classic now-defunct Rice Student Interest example of what we SI,826 Organization to three new campus groups Monday night so that they are supposed to be could finance community service projects. doing with this The Senate voted to give $1,240 money, getting to the Rice Organization of Undergraduate Tutors (Rice students involved in OUT-Reach), an organization of the community." Rice students that will tutor underprivileged junior high —Bob Casey students from the Houston Independent School District; $400 Senate External Affairs to the Rice Student Volunteer Committee, which wanted to Project (RSVP), a clearinghouse donate funds to the Houston Area for community service; and $300 to Food Bank; a group from Hanszen Central American Peace Forum Rice OUT-Reach: the Central American Peace College, who wanted to have Forum, which will sponsor films Beer/ Bike teams adopt local $1,240 S300 and lectures about politics in Latin charities; and Student Association America. President Barry Nicholson, who The Senate tabled discussion on suggested improving the condition requests for funds made by the see Service, page 5 REPAIRING THE HEDGES/BY AL DERBES OR-AM On the coherent minor miycm President Rupp has put forward a proposal for a mandatory minor in a field of study opposite to one's major for all students. For instance, humanities majors would have science minors while S/E's would have academ minors (generally the social sciences would be considered with the humanities). Examples of the type of combination desired would be an anthropology major with a natural science minor or a mechanical engineering major with a minor concentrating on, say, the history of technology. Reasons for his proposal include the university's need to create more well-rounded students and to integrate its science and engineering programs with its humanities and social science departments. This proposal will require changes in the present distribution requirements and a strengthened advising system in order to work. Originally. Rice emphasized the S/E majors to the exclusion of others. An attitude existed — and to some extent still remains ----- that the other departments exist for S/ E's to take distribution or to fall back upon if they need to drop their S/E major. This attitude has lessened as Rice has become more of a university. Unfortunately, as the academic departments became larger and more numerous, the liberal ideas of learning which grew in the sixties took root at Rice. Students demanded more freedom in their course scheduling. As a result of added choices in Oaivac^^eu scheduling, however, students also decided whether they had PRUNING THE HEDGES/bv Jack L. Schriver enough background to take particular courses. The fields of science more obviously require prerequisites than do other studies. Scientific knowledge generally accrues through Evaluating US policy on South Africa deductive analysis, in which a hypothesis is checked against question. First, he is concerned Turning now to the question of previously gained knowledge. The social sciences however, In the words of Thomas Paine, "When justice and reason are over the possible emergence of strategy, there are two questions to presently require an inductive approach that is likely to result in intertribal conflict following consider: (1) Does investment in less bias by exposing the human mind to as much knowledge as wanting, the sacred cause of truth applauds our anger, and dignifies transition to black rule. That there South Africa tend on balance to possible. it with the name of virtue." will likely be friction among tribes support apartheid or is it, as the as they jockey for position in the Reagan administration argues, a However, the present liberal system leaves the arrangement of So it is today with the case of new political order cannot be positive force for change? And. South Africa. But. if a discussion this exposure to the student himself, resulting in teaching that denied. Indeed, the early years of conversely, (2) Is disinvestment an f of the South Africa question is to i aims for the least common denominator of student knowledge. our own Union were not without a effective means of applying illuminate the subject rather than Because departments in the liberal arts are largely considered measure of strife among the States. pressure, or is it a tactic that is merely generate heat, the level of as sources of distribution for S/ E's, the S/ E student sees nothing But the solution is surely not counterproductive and will only discourse cannot be allowed to wrong with taking a course in social psychology, for example, maintenance of the status quo, for hurt the very people we are trying devolve to the kind of intemperate without ever having read Jung as a prerequisite. Indeed, the the political reality of South Africa to help? bombast which has appeared in prerequisite introductory course is often only a light summary of these pages in recent weeks. The The administration maintains the results of many different areas of research. Contrarily, nest of issues that fall under the " Whether Pretoria, that investment in South Africa, although 1 (a history major) might personally be interested in the general heading of "South Africa" in its recalcitrance, especially by firms which have study of genetics, the course is taught on the assumption that is complex, and it deserves to be agreed not to practice discrimina- I everyone has taken introductory chemistry. taken seriously and reflected upon tion in the workplace (i.e., will act in time, a* * • Distribution is considered as diversion for S/E's, while a calmly. signatories to the Sullivan Principles), have contributed to drudgery for academs. The latter are assumed incapable of To begin with, questions about only time itself will f the welfare of blacks by starting taking their distribution with S/E's. As freshmen, they are ends, or policy goals, should be •% Z > t tell; however, we education programs and moving advised to take segregated courses (for example, Calculus 111 seperated from disagreements over blacks into management positions.