VOLUME 110, ISSUE NO. 18 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2026
Students prioritize traditions for Will Rice renovations HOPE YANG
ASST. NEWS EDITOR With a makeover on the horizon, Will Rice College students will look to preserve college character even as spaces change. The residential college will be undergoing renovations, including replacing commons with a multistory building containing a new commons space and residences above. The renovations will also remodel Old Dorm and add approximately 65 beds, said Kelly Fox, executive vice president for operations, finance and support. Set to complete in 2028, the project is currently in its concept design phase, with William Rawn Associates as design architect and Harrison Kornberg serving as executive architect. Will Rice President Mary Margaret Speed said the biggest challenge for Will Rice will be articulating what their priorities are with the architectural team. “I’ve been told that we might be able to do a walkthrough of this space to point out things we particularly want to bring into the new space and have conversations with the team so that they can get our ideas in while they’re still conceptualizing the space,” Speed said. “It will be a lot more difficult to make changes in the design once things have been finalized more.” Built in 1912, Old Dorm is the oldest residential building on campus. Originally South Hall, the building was made a part of Will Rice when the residential college system was started in 1957. The renovations will support enrollment growth, maintain on-campus undergraduate housing capacity and balance residential populations, Fox said.
KONSTANTIN SAVVON / THRESHER Will Rice College junior Mariela Garcia eats in Will Rice Commons on Feb. 17. The commons are included in the extensive renovations to take place at Will Rice. “Will Rice was identified through a campus planning process because of the age of its commons facility and the opportunity to modernize and add capacity in a way that enhances the student experience,” Fox wrote in an email to the Thresher. With around 375 students and 235 beds, Will Rice is one of the smallest residential colleges on campus, which tend to have an average population of about 430 or 440 students. Students will be moved to Old Lovett College for overflow housing during construction, which is set to start around May 2027, Speed said.
Speed recently started the application process for the Will Rice Improvements Committee, which will focus on communicating student priorities to the architectural team in charge of renovations. “We want to make it as homey as possible, we want there to be natural light, but not a wall of glass,” Speed said. “A portion of that will be focused on bringing in items and pieces of artwork from this current building.” Gabriel Witkop, a member of the Improvements Committee, said the goal of the committee is to convey their priorities as a college to the architecture firm and
campus leadership. They will also work to ensure continuity and preservation of as much of the history of their current buildings as possible, Wiktop said. “The most important thing to me is that the expansion and renovation takes a great deal of inspiration from the current setup,” Wiktop, a senior, wrote in an email to the Thresher. “The work taking place is first and foremost to replace aging infrastructure, not to change or eliminate what makes Will Rice special.”
SEE WILL RICE PAGE 3
Five candidates kick off campaigns for president in crowded race TOBY CHOU
THRESHER STAFF With the start of the voting period only a week away, here’s a rundown of all the candidates running for positions on the Student Association Executive Committee. The president of the SA serves as the chief executive and the official spokesperson of the SA. With the oversight of the Executive Committee and student input, they will set priorities for the current term of the SA. There are five candidates running for SA president.
Max Menchaca
In his role as the current Brown College Senator, Menchaca has co-authored resolutions to support undocumented students and to restrict members of the Student Association from making political statements on behalf of the SA. Menchaca’s priorities include pushing back on institutional barriers that burden student life, such as restrictions on publics and college nights. In addition, Menchaca advocates for advancing academic improvements, such as publishing final exam schedules earlier, and ensuring students feel informed and represented by their government.
Chelsea Asibbey
Jenny Karsner
The former SA Secretary during the 2024-25 term of the SA, Asibbey’s platform highlights three goals for her presidency: affordability, accessibility and action. First, she seeks to lower the price of mandatory materials like printers and Cengage. Second, she wants to make resources more accessible on campus and amplify spaces already available to students. Third, she wants to maintain key traditions of Rice culture, like Beer Bike and athletics.
A two-time Civic Immersion Leader, Wiess IM Sports Representative and a University Court Representative, Karsner’s priorities as president are shaped by her past experiences. Her platform centers on connecting Rice students to Houston through nonprofit partnerships and student discounts, strengthening jack culture through more inter-college competitions and advocating for practical improvements like expanded latenight dining.
Ananya A. Nair
Muyiwa Ogunsola
A former Parliamentarian and the former McMurtry College First Year Representative, Nair has five main goals as president. She wants to push for increased quality of servery food as well as increased sensitivity to dietary needs. Second, she wants to fund all the organizations and clubs that lost funding during the past year. Other goals include defunding expensive senators dinners and proposing resolutions that “empower students needs and participation in their SA.”
Ogunsola said he believes that while the SA has plenty of potential, it is dragged down by its bureaucracy. He seeks to reduce the delays that have historically extended over weeks and months, which negatively impact the student body. He is running on a “reconstruction” of the administrative structure, which he says will allow representatives to move fast and with intention.
WHAT’S INSIDE
SEE SA CANDIDATES PAGE 2
CHAO COLLEGE GEARS UP FOR INAUGURAL O-WEEK PAGE 2
MAMA CAT TELLS ALL IN THRESHER EXCLUSIVE PAGE 9
REC USAGE, BY THE NUMBERS
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