RPC: for culture, society, recreation, education

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by Grace Ho

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The Assassination Game. Willy's Birthday Party. Screw Yer Roommate. Rondelet. Esperanza. And of course, Beer-Bike. All of these events are brought to the campus by the Rice Program Council.

"Our job is the mission statement in the new constitution that we wrote last year," RPC Co-President Ryan Levy said.

According to Article C-1, Section 1: "The purpose of the Council is to enhance the quality of life of the Rice community by providing programs of social, cultural, educational and recreational value. The Council shall endeavor to present programs which represent and foster participation among the members of the Rice community ... [and] coordinate the planning and scheduling of programs among the residential colleges and affiliate student organizations."

The RPC has undergone a significant makeover since last year. In the past, the president had complete control of funds and could make appropriations for anything. With the new structure of the RPC, all appropriations are in the hands of eight committee chairs, each of whom is a representative of a college.

"This system is more businesslike. The control isn't just in the hands of one person and his or her friends," RPC Co-President Jennifer Lin said.

Most of the RPC's goals are entertainment-oriented. Five of its eight committees are devoted to subsidizing tickets to Houston sports and music events, funding campus parties and increasing publicity for university events.

"I think as an RPC member, you should make decisions that you know are right, remember that you are dealing with students' money -- not your own," Levy said. "And program [events] to challenge ideas, beliefs and the realms of fun that everyone has experienced before. Bring something new and totally different."

The five original committees are Houston Entertainment, University Events, Public Relations, Spirit and Morale and Social Events; the three new ones are Real Life, Issues and Intellect and Diversity. The new committees focus on more serious aspects of students' lives. For instance, the Issues and Intellect Committee played a large role in the Forum on Freedom of Speech last fall, and the Diversity Committee helped the Pride Rally materialize.

However, many Rice students are unaware of the RPC's contributions on campus.

"I don't know anything about the RPC -- except that Ryan Levy is something in it, right?" said Lovett College freshman Jason Duke when asked what he thought the RPC had done for campus life this year.

Whether this state of unawareness is attributed to student apathy or the RPC's limited reach into student life depends on who is asked.

"I don't really care much about the RPC. Because they haven't done anything that I'm really interested in," said Brown College senior Joel Riphagen.

Levy realizes that many students do not feel positively about the RPC but said, "As the co-president of RPC, I have to deal with all of that ," referring to the many criticisms the RPC receives.

The few students who are aware of the goings-on express concern over the amount of money spent at the annual changeover parties. Levy suggested that the restructuring this year will put an end to those misappropriations, and Internal Vice-President Kari Hoffman encourages people who have comments about the RPC to attend the weekly meetings open to all students every Tuesday at 9 p.m. in Miner Lounge.

Another of the RPC's problems is making sure that the budget is spread evenly and fairly. The RPC is challenged to balance the quality with the quantity of their support for many campus activities -- from the Lunar New Year celebration to the attraction of poets to read their works at the CoffeeHouse.

"The RPC budget has difficulties because we spend a lot of it on other clubs -- being a bank for other clubs hinders the RPC in attracting really big names onto campus. We are trying to improve this, and we are always open to discussion and suggestions," Hoffman said.

This item appeared in the Features section of the February 16, 1996 issue.

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