VOLUME 109, ISSUE NO. 9 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2024
Students mobilize for Harris’ reproductive rights rally Beyoncé, Willie Nelson take the stage in support
RIYA MISRA
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris hosted a rally for reproductive rights in Houston on Oct. 25. Musical artist Beyoncé Knowles-Carter drew crowds at the rally, returning to her hometown to endorse Harris in the U.S. presidential race. Over 30,000 attendees — Harris’ largest rally turnout so far, her campaign said — packed the Shell Energy Stadium, emblazoned with signs saying “Trust Women” and “Vote for Reproductive Freedom.” Ten days before the election, Harris’ stop in Houston is a rare one: It’s the first time in 30 years that a candidate has campaigned in Texas, a state that last voted Democrat in 1976. “I know sometimes in Texas, folks are like ‘Is it worth it? Does it make a difference?’ Harris said at the rally. “Yes, it does … momentum is on our side.” Rice Young Democrats
RIYA MISRA / THRESHER Attendees hold up signs referencing Beyoncé’s 2016 song “Freedom,” which Harris has adopted as a campaign anthem. The Oct. 25 rally focused on abortion rights and reproductive freedom.
Rice fires football head coach Mike Bloomgren ANDERSEN PICKARD
ASST. SPORTS EDITOR
organized a group of over 70 students to attend the rally, led by Benjamin Kagan and Sammi Frey. After the event was announced on Oct. 22,
The thing I love about [Generation Z], is that you are impatient for change. You know it ain’t right that you may have fewer rights than your mother or grandmother … I see you, and I see your power. Kamala Harris U.S. VICE PRESIDENT
Kagan said he approached contacts at the Harris campaign in hopes of involving students. After obtaining “friends and family” seats at the front of the stadium floors, Kagan and Frey said they recruited students to attend and arranged carpools t o transport people to the stadium. “We expected maybe 20, 25, people,”
Rice Athletics announced the firing of football head coach Mike Bloomgren on Sunday, less than 24 hours after a 1710 loss at the University of Connecticut. “As I evaluated our program and compared our current and desired trajectory, I determined new leadership is necessary to guide us into the future,” said athletic director Tommy McClelland in a statement. Bloomgren, 47, was in the middle of his seventh season as the Owls’ head coach at the time of his firing. Through six full seasons, he had never led the program to a winning record. His best finish CALI LIU / THRESHER came in 2023 when Rice went U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris 6-6 and lost their bowl game addresses the crowd at an Oct. 25 Kagan, a to Texas State University. rally in Houston. The event saw over Baker College Entering the 2024 season, 30,000 attendees — her largest yet freshman, DraftKings projected Rice to — and 1.5 million sign-ups, said. “But finish fifth among 14 teams her campaign said. within a very in the American Athletic short time of Conference. However, at the time sending out an of Bloomgren’s firing, Rice was tied [RSVP] form … we for ninth in the conference, going 2-6 were inundated with overall and 1-3 against AAC opponents. people reaching out, and many, many Rice was Bloomgren’s third stop sign-ups.” in Division I FBS, but his first as head Over 1.5 million people signed up for the rally, with lines wrapping around the stadium and spilling into the roads. Students like Ridhi Dondeti, a Jones As I evaluated our College freshman, and Matthew Hong, a Brown College senior, said they waited program and compared for as long as four hours. our current and desired Actress Jessica Alba opened the trajectory, I determined event at 7:30 p.m., endorsing Harris. new leadership is “Going back is not an option,” she said before introducing Houston necessary to guide us obstetrician-gynecologist Todd Ivey, into the future. who gave a speech criticizing the state’s abortion bans. Tommy McClelland
SEE HARRIS RALLY PAGE 2
RIYA MISRA / THRESHER Singers Kelly Rowland (left) and Beyoncé (right), Houston natives, speak at the rally in support of Harris.
ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
coach. He had previously been a graduate assistant at the University of Alabama and offensive coordinator at Stanford University. He also spent four years at the NFL level in various roles with the New York Jets. Bloomgren was credited with recruiting talent to Rice, including quarterback JT Daniels, whom he had attempted to recruit while Daniels was in high school, and wide receiver Luke McCaffrey, whose brother, Christian, played for him at Stanford. Daniels helped lead the Owls to their second consecutive bowl-game berth in 2023 before declaring his medical retirement near the end of the season. McCaffrey parlayed an impressive junior season at Rice into becoming a thirdround pick in the NFL Draft for the Washington Commanders.
SEE BLOOMGREN PAGE 11