VOLUME 109, ISSUE NO. 14 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2025
Servery times staggered, continuous weekday dining now available
8 A.M.
SEIBEL & WEST
CHARLIE CRUZ
THRESHER STAFF
Humanities 7% Business 8%
7:30 - 10:30
BAKER
Noon
SOUTH & WEST
10:30 - 1:00
11:30 - 1:30 2 P.M.
11:30 - 3:00
4 P.M.
SOUTH & WEST 6 P.M.
BAKER 8 P.M.
3:00 - 7:00 Closes Friday at 5 P.M.
5:30 - 8:00
WEEKENDS BREAKFAST
8 A.M - 11 A.M.
LUNCH
11:30 A.M. - 2 P.M.
MUNCH
3:30 P.M. - 5 P.M.
DINNER
5:30 P.M. - 8:30 P.M.
ALICE SUN / THRESHER DATA COURTESY H&D
Engineering 37% BELINDA ZHU
ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Social Sciences 19%
SEIBEL & NORTH Closes Friday at 7:30 P.M.
5:00 - 9:00
Saturday: South & West Sunday: North & Seibel
Architecture 1%
SEIBEL & NORTH
DINNER
Rice accepts 13% of recordsetting ED applications
10 A.M.
LUNCH
distance from Viamontes’ home college. “I tend to forget to eat until late,” Viamontes said. “Having Baker open until 9 p.m. is definitely Housing and Dining unveiled a restructured helpful, but it’s not the most practical when it’s dining schedule for the spring semester, on the other side of campus … I understand the introducing extended meal times and reasoning, but it’s not ideal for everyone.” Summer Orr, a Duncan College sophomore, continuous weekday dining. Lunch and dinner times are staggered at different serveries — for said she was frustrated by the new operating example, Baker offers lunch from 10:30 a.m. to hours, which are now inconsistent across 1 p.m., while Seibel offers lunch from 11:30 a.m. serveries. Like Viamontes, she also expressed concern about having to to 3 p.m. Under the new walk to different serveries plan, at least one servery across campus. will be open at any given “It takes more effort time between 7:30 a.m. to It takes more effort to to figure out where and 9:30 p.m. on weekdays. when to eat now,” Orr Breakfast options at figure out where and said. “No one was asking select locations have when to eat now. No one for cinnamon rolls at also expanded to include was asking for cinnamon the expense of losing cinnamon rolls, omelets rolls at the expense of breakfast at their nearby and other new additions, servery. Especially in according to an email losing breakfast at their from Rice Dining. nearby servery. Especially winter, who wants to walk across campus for Olivia Seo, Brown in winter, who wants to breakfast?” College’s food ambassador, walk across campus for While the new said the new schedule was schedule has faced designed based on existing breakfast? criticism, changes like student dining patterns. Summer Orr menu adjustments H&D gleaned these DUNCAN COLLEGE SOPHOMORE reflect ongoing student patterns from swipe data, feedback, said Jones which provides insight into serveries and mealtimes with the highest foot College food ambassador Daijah Wilson. “A big change implemented because of traffic, Seo, a sophomore, said. Each college’s food ambassador works with H&D to provide student student input was the return of popular breakfast items like cinnamon rolls and input on dining options. “[H&D] found that North and South weren’t grab-and-go frittatas,” Wilson, a sophomore, heavily utilized for breakfast, so those were the wrote in a message to the Thresher. “It feels serveries chosen to close,” Seo said. “Meanwhile, good to see that student voices are valued on Baker’s hours were extended because it’s the this campus. H&D is encouraging of student engagement, and they’ve been responsive to most central location on campus.” Aspen Viamontes, a McMurtry College our feedback.” freshman, said that they appreciated the extended hours at Baker Servery, despite its SEE DINING SCHEDULE PAGE 2
WEEKDAYS BREAKFAST
H&D rolls out new spring dining schedule
Geographic origin
School of study
Natural Sciences 27%
International 16% Texas 35%
ALICE SUN / THRESHER The academic breakdown of Rice’s admitted ED I class. Data courtesy Rice Office of Admission.
U.S. Non-Texas 49%
Rice accepted 13.2% of Early Decision applicants in its first round of admissions for the class of 2029, said Yvonne Romero da Silva, vice president for enrollment. With 2,970 total applicants, this year saw yet another record-high; a 3% increase from last year’s previous high of 2,886. An additional 100 students gained admission through the QuestBridge National College Match program, an uptick from last year’s 77. While applications are on the rise, acceptance rates continue to decrease: The past two ED cycles saw 15.3% and 15.2% admission rates. Romero da Silva cited “many factors at play” for this drop, including higher
applications, more QuestBridge admits and the upcoming ED II cycle. This is the first year that Rice has included two rounds of early decision applications. ED II applicants will receive their results in February 2025 Scott Chen, an admitted student from Walnut, Calif., said that he was especially drawn to Rice’s “diverse community” that is both “diverse” and “tight-knit.” “I am looking forward to the residential college I get into, because it is such a unique social aspect of Rice that really not many colleges have,” Chen said. Chen is part of the 49% of domestic non-Texan admitted students. The remaining 35% of the class is from Texas while 16% are international students.
SEE EARLY DECISION PAGE 2