VOLUME 110, ISSUE NO. 11 | STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916 | RICETHRESHER.ORG | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2025
Will Rice closes events to other residential colleges due to misbehavior at Perch parties HOPE YANG
ASST. NEWS EDITOR From private parties to Keg in the Quad, Will Rice College events are closed to students from other colleges for the rest of the semester. The decision followed a slew of incidents involving overcrowding, intoxication-related transports, objects thrown off Perch — the balcony of a private room where parties are often hosted — stealing and other issues, said Emmie Casey, the Will Rice Chief Justice. “This is helping reel Will Rice back in and helping us understand problematic points and also protect ourselves from further problems,” Casey said. Students were informed of the decision in an email sent to every residential college by Casey Nov. 5. In her email, Casey said the decision to ban other students was not made by Will Rice leadership. “The Dean’s Office, RUPD and SJP are on our backs,” Casey wrote in the email. “This sucks but was not our decision and was passed down from on high.” Kamran Riaz, the director of Student Judicial Programs, wrote in an email to the Thresher that he was not aware that Will Rice had closed its events to other colleges. Clemente Rodriguez, the Rice University Police Department chief, echoed Riaz’s sentiment. “RUPD is not aware, nor have we requested, that Will Rice events be closed to students from other colleges,” Rodriguez wrote in an email to the Thresher. Will Rice President Mary Margaret Speed said the decision was made after talks with Rice administration about party and drinking culture at Will Rice. “I support and appreciate student
FRANCESCA NEMATI / THRESHER Perch, the balcony of a private room at Will Rice College, sits empty Nov. 10. Will Rice barred students from other colleges from their events through the end of the semester. leaders and the proactive steps they take to promote a healthy culture at their college,” Bridget Gorman, dean of undergraduates, wrote in an email to the Thresher.
There were cases of people just taking glass drinks and then chucking them off the balcony. Nick True RESIDENT OF PERCH
Casey said IDs will be checked for privates and publics hosted by Will Rice affiliates in the space and non-Will Rice students attending will be asked to leave. In the case of aggressive resistance, RUPD will be called, which may result in a minor
in possession citation or trespassing charges, Casey said. “When we saw another uptick in these incidents, admin expressed their concern and looked to us to find a solution in order to correct these,” Speed said. “We are taking ownership of the situation in order to find a solution that best preserves everyone’s health and safety.” Nick True, who lives and hosts parties at Perch at Will Rice, said most of the behavior at issue involved students from other colleges. The most recent party at Perch, which occurred during Halloween weekend, saw at least five transports, four of which were students from North colleges, True said. Speed and Casey confirmed that at least four of the transports were not Will Rice students. True said students have participated in unsafe behavior at Perch throughout the
semester. While no one has been hurt, True said there were close calls. “There were cases of people just taking glass drinks and then chucking them off the balcony,” True said. “I witnessed one of my traffic cones getting tossed over the balcony … I had two of my decorations just stolen.” True said the sanction was inevitable given the behavior at Perch. However, he also said that closing Will Rice spaces may create more overcrowding for other parties. “Essentially eliminating Will Rice in general takes out the kitchen, takes out the Piano Room, takes out the New Dorm balcony, and that’s going to cluster more people to other places and that’s going to cause more REMS activities,” True said.
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Soccer falls short in American Conference championship game PATRICK SHUKIS
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After two nail-biting matches on Thursday and Sunday, Rice soccer fell just short of winning the American Conference championship, finishing second in the tournament. The Owls entered the conference tournament coming off an end-of-season skid that saw only one win for Rice in their last seven regular-season games. After their national ranking fell from No. 25 to No. 78, winning the conference tournament became the only opportunity for Rice to make the NCAA tournament. Sixth-seeded Rice’s 1-0 win over the third-seeded University of Tulsa in the COURTESY AMERICAN CONFERENCE quarterfinals launched the Owls into a Goalkeeper Kirsten Ruf kicks a ball during the American Conference tournament. Rice played in back-tosemifinal match Thursday that pitted them back overtime games, ultimately losing to the University of Texas at San Antonio in the final.
against the seventh-seeded University of South Florida. “USF is really talented,” head coach Brian Lee said. “They have two seniors who have been two of the best five players in the conference since we’ve been in the league.” Rice had its share of offensive struggles throughout the match, as the Owls couldn’t find the back of the net in regulation. “We had plenty of opportunities, we just didn’t do well with them,” Lee said. “I think we had 17 shots and only three on goal. It’s something we’ve struggled with the whole year.” However, Rice limited USF’s attacking pressure, holding the Bulls scoreless through all 90 minutes of regulation and both 10-minute overtime periods.
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